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The Earlier the Better? Individual Participant Data and Traditional Meta‐analysis of Age Effects of Parenting Interventions
Author(s) -
Gardner Frances,
Leijten Patty,
MelendezTorres G.J.,
Landau Sabine,
Harris Victoria,
Mann Joanna,
Beecham Jennifer,
Hutchings Judy,
Scott Stephen
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/cdev.13138
Subject(s) - meta analysis , psychology , intervention (counseling) , developmental psychology , psychological intervention , clinical psychology , psychiatry , medicine
Strong arguments have been made for early intervention for child problems, stating that early is more effective than later, as the brain is more malleable, and costs are lower. However, there is scant evidence from trials to support this hypothesis, which we therefore tested in two well‐powered, state‐of‐the‐art meta‐analyses with complementary strengths: (a) Individual participant data (IPD) meta‐analysis of European trials of Incredible Years parenting intervention ( k = 13, n = 1696; age = 2–11); (b) Larger, trial‐level robust variance estimation meta‐analysis of a wider range of parenting programs ( k = 156, n = 13,378, M age = 2–10) for reducing disruptive behavior. Both analyses found no evidence that intervention earlier in childhood was more effective; programs targeted at a narrower age range were no more effective than general ones.