SynthesisEuropean child & adolescent psychiatry2014
Are self-directed parenting interventions sufficient for externalising behaviour problems in childhood? A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in European child & adolescent psychiatry, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Beyond Clicks: A Systematic Review of How Engagement is Defined, Predicted, and Linked to Child Outcomes in Self-directed eHealth Preventive Parenting Programs.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2025Pooled it
- Universal, selective and indicated parenting interventions to prevent the development of adverse mental health outcomes in youth: a meta-review of systematic reviews.BMJ mental health · 2025Pooled it
- The Effect of Digital Health Interventions on Parents' Mental Health Literacy and Help Seeking for Their Child's Mental Health Problem: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Pooled it
- Interventions to Ameliorate the Psychosocial Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children-A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Theories of Change and Mediators of Psychotherapy Effectiveness in Adolescents With Externalising Behaviours: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- The Efficacy of Internet-Based Parenting Programs for Children and Adolescents with Behavior Problems: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials.Clinical child and family psychology review · 2020Pooled it
- Online parent programs for children's behavioral problems: a meta-analytic review.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2020Pooled it
- Technology-Assisted Parenting Interventions for Families Experiencing Social Disadvantage: a Meta-Analysis.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2020Pooled it
- Internet-Delivered Health Interventions That Work: Systematic Review of Meta-Analyses and Evaluation of Website Availability.Journal of medical Internet research · 2017Pooled it
- Mechanisms of change in psychotherapy for children and adolescents: current state, clinical implications, and methodological and conceptual recommendations for mediation analysis.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2015Pooled it
- Parent Training for Disruptive Behaviors in Referred Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Trial
- Efficacy of a mobile-based self-directed parent management training for parents of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder with or without oppositional defiant disorder- a randomized controlled trial.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2025Trial
- Mechanisms of Change in a Self-Help Parenting Program for Child Behavioral Difficulties: the Role of Unsupportive Parenting.Research on child and adolescent psychopathology · 2025Trial
- Efficacy of guided and unguided web-assisted self-help for parents of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder: A three-arm randomized controlled trial.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2025Trial
- Process Mechanisms in Behavioral Versus Nondirective Guided Self-help for Parents of Children with Externalizing Behavior.Child psychiatry and human development · 2024Trial
- The efficacy of a self-help parenting program for parents of children with externalizing behavior: a randomized controlled trial.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2023Trial
- Efficacy of web-assisted self-help for parents of children with ADHD (WASH) - a three-arm randomized trial under field/routine care conditions in Germany.BMC psychiatry · 2020Trial
- Behavioral and Nondirective Guided Self-Help for Parents of Children with Externalizing Behavior: Mediating Mechanisms in a Head-To-Head Comparison.Journal of abnormal child psychology · 2017Trial
- One-year follow-up of guided self-help for parents of preschool children with externalizing behavior.The journal of primary prevention · 2015Trial
- Efficacy of a stepped-care approach for school-age children with mild to moderate ADHD (ESCAschool-moderate): an adaptive intervention study including a randomized controlled trial.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Externalising behaviour in childhood is a prevalent problem in the field of child and adolescent mental health. Parenting interventions are widely accepted as efficacious treatment options for reducing externalising behaviour, yet practical and psychological barriers limit their accessibility. This review aims to establish the evidence base of self-directed (SD) parenting interventions for externalising behaviour problems. Electronic searches of PubMed, Web of Knowledge, Psychinfo, Embase and CENTRAL databases and manual searches of reference lists of relevant reviews identified randomised controlled trials and cluster randomised controlled trials examining the efficacy of SD interventions compared to no-treatment or active control groups. A random-effect meta-analysis estimated pooled standard mean difference (SMD) for SD interventions on measures of externalising child behaviour. Secondary analyses examined their effect on measures of parenting behaviour, parental stress and mood and parenting efficacy. Eleven eligible trials were included in the analyses. SD interventions had a large effect on parent report of externalising child behaviour (SMD = 1.01, 95 % CI: 0.77-1.24); although this effect was not upheld by analyses of observed child behaviour. Secondary analyses revealed effects of small to moderate magnitude on measures of parenting behaviour, parental mood and stress and parenting efficacy. An analysis comparing SD interventions with therapist-led parenting interventions revealed no significant difference on parent-reported measures of externalising child behaviour. SD interventions are associated with improvements in parental perception of externalising child behaviour and parental behaviour and well-being. Future research should further investigate the relative efficacy and cost-effectiveness of SD interventions compared to therapist-led interventions.
Indexed as
Identifiers
24842197What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.