Abstract
Clinical trials exploring the use of counseling and psychotherapy to treat alcohol and other drug use problems in school-aged youth were meta-analyzed using a random effects model. Of 374 possible studies identified, 20 studies were accepted into the analysis comprising 28 samples of participants (n = 2,837). Counseling and psychotherapy interventions for school-aged youth were inconsistently effective in lowering alcohol use at termination and not effective at follow-up. Effects of counseling and psychotherapy for drug abuse were consistently significant at termination, but follow-up effects yielded inconsistent results. With the exception of a sample size effect in the single group drug abuse treatment follow-up analysis, all tests of homogeneity (Cochran’s Q and I2) indicated no substantial effects of moderating variables.
Notes
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or Publication of this article.
The author(s) received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.
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Notes on contributors
Danielle Rongione
Danielle Rongione, MA, is a graduate of the School Counseling Program at Loyola University Maryland.
Bradley T. Erford
Bradley T. Erford, PhD, is a Professor in the School Counseling Program of the Education Specialties Department in the School of Education at Loyola University Maryland.
Caren Broglie
Caren Broglie, MEd, is a graduate of the School Counseling Program at Loyola University Maryland.