The Effects of School-Based Cognitive Behavioral Interventions for Internalizing Problems: A Meta-Analysis and an Examination of the Quality of the Evidence-Base
Abstract
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in a clinical setting is an effective intervention used
to reduce internalized problems, particularly those of anxiety and depression disorders. Because
schools provide one of the best environments in which to access children to provide treatment
programs to meet their needs, a growing body of evidence suggests the implementation of
school-based CBTs to reduce a variety of internalizing problems of children.
The first part of this study addressed the evaluation of the quality indicators of school-based
CBTs on students with or at risk of developing any types of internalizing problems. A
comprehensive search of the literature yielded fifty group research studies based on the
inclusion/exclusion criteria. Twenty-four quality components across eight quality indicators
categories were coded and analyzed for each study. The results of review demonstrated that only
four of the fifty studies met all components of the quality indicators. The significant indicators
that the studies were missing were the disability or risk status of participants, a description of
specific training, and the qualifications for implementer. Moreover, the findings of the study
showed that implementation fidelity was missing for most studies. Future directions for research
and practice are discussed.
The second part of the study was a systematic and meta-analysis examining the efficacy
of school-based CBTs in reducing the internalizing problems of children within in a Multi-Tiered
System of Support (MTSS). This meta-analysis included fifty studies involving the use of
school-based CBTs for treatment of internalizing problems. The finding of the second study
suggests that school-based CBTs may be useful to minimize internalizing problems of children
within the MTSS. The results indicated a small effect for reducing internalizing problems in
children. Results of the current meta-analysis also demonstrated that the statistically significant
differences between the studies was not due to random differences in the effect size. The results
of the moderator analyses indicated that levels of the intervention, types of the implementers, and
types of the internalizing problems were not statistically significant moderators of treatment.
Future directions for research and practice are discussed.
Subject
internalizing problemsschool-based cognitive behavioral intervention
anxiety
depression
CBI
Citation
Perihan, Celal (2018). The Effects of School-Based Cognitive Behavioral Interventions for Internalizing Problems: A Meta-Analysis and an Examination of the Quality of the Evidence-Base. Doctoral dissertation, Texas A & M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /173654.