Peer Management Interventions: A Meta-Analytic Review of Single-Case Research

Abstract.

Peer management intervention is a subtype of peer-mediated intervention that involves training individuals to implement standardized intervention protocols to modify the behavior of their peers. This meta-analysis of single-case research synthesized the results of 29 studies examining the effectiveness of school-based peer management interventions. The overall results indicate that peer management interventions are moderately effective (Tau-U = 0.78) at altering the behavior of students in the desired direction in a variety of domains including social skills, disruptive behavior, and academic engagement time. These results are consistent with similar meta-analyses examining the effects of academic peer-mediated interventions (e.g., Bowman-Perrott et al., 2013). Moderator variables including intervention target behavior, student interventionist training time, and matching of target students and student interventionists on a variety of demographic variables were examined. Limitations, implications, and future directions of the findings are discussed.

Notes

* References marked with an asterisk indicate studies included in the meta-analysis.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Evan H. Dart

Evan H. Dart, PhD, is an assistant professor in the school psychology program in the Department of Psychology at The University of Southern Mississippi. His research interests include peer-mediated behavioral interventions, the identification of school-based consultation strategies to promote teacher treatment adherence, and the integration of technology into extant evidence-based intervention strategies.

Tai A. Collins

Tai A. Collins, PhD, is an assistant professor in the school psychology program at the University of Cincinnati. He earned his doctorate in school psychology from Louisiana State University. His research interests include the implementation of peer management and group-contingency interventions in schools and developing strategies to reduce the overrepresentation of African American students in special education and their underrepresentation in gifted education programs.

David A. Klingbeil

David A. Klingbeil, PhD, is an assistant professor in the school psychology program at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. He received his doctorate degree from the University of Minnesota. His research interests include identifying evidence-based practices and modifying extant evidence-based practices to increase their usability for urban schools.

Lauren E. McKinley

Lauren E. McKinley, SSP, is currently a PhD student in the school psychology program at the University of Cincinnati. She received her specialist in school psychology degree from Louisiana State University–Shreveport. Her research interests include the implementation of academic and behavioral interventions with students, classrooms, schools, and systems.