Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31739275›Full record

ArticleJournal of adolescence2019

Meta-analytic approaches for examining complexity and heterogeneity in studies of adolescent development.

Nicholas J Parr, Maria L Schweer-Collins, Todd M Darlington, Emily E Tanner-Smith

Open access · greenAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of adolescence, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
14citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
3.5field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

14 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Implication of surgical loupes on complications following thyroidectomy: a meta-analysis.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2025
    Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Investigating for Whom Brief Substance Use Interventions Are Most Effective: An Individual Participant Data Meta-analysis.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2023
    Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. Pooled it
  8. Review
  9. Change ofFrontiers in psychology · 2026
    Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Modern Meta-Analytic Methods in Prevention Science: Introduction to the Special Issue.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2022
    Article
  14. Using Bayesian Meta-Regression to Advance Prevention Science Research: an Introduction and Empirical Illustration.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2022
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Nicholas J ParrDepartment of Counseling Psychology and Human Services, University of Oregon, 5251 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403, USA; Prevention Science Institute, University of Oregon. 6217 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403, USA. Electronic address: nparr2@uoregon.edu.
Maria L Schweer-CollinsDepartment of Counseling Psychology and Human Services, University of Oregon, 5251 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403, USA; Prevention Science Institute, University of Oregon. 6217 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403, USA.
Todd M DarlingtonPrevention Science Institute, University of Oregon. 6217 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Oregon. 1227 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403, USA.
Emily E Tanner-SmithDepartment of Counseling Psychology and Human Services, University of Oregon, 5251 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403, USA; Prevention Science Institute, University of Oregon. 6217 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403, USA.
University of Oregon · US

Funding

A Meta-analysis of Brief Intervention Effects for Adolescents and Young AdultsR01AA020286 · NIAAA · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY · PI TANNER-SMITH, EMILY E. · 2011 to 2012
$527k
NIAAA NIH HHS R01 AA020286
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionIn the field of adolescent development, meta-analysis offers valuable tools for synthesizing and assessing cumulative research evidence on the effectiveness of programs, practices, and policies intended to promote healthy adolescent development. When examining the impact of a program implemented across multiple primary studies, variation is often observed in the methodological attributes of those primary studies, such as their implementation methods, program components, participant characteristics, outcome measurement, and the systems in which programs are deployed. Differences in methodological attributes of primary studies represented in a meta-analysis, referred to as complexity, can yield variation in true effects across primary studies, which is described as heterogeneity.

methodsWe discuss heterogeneity as a parameter of interest in meta-analysis, introducing and demonstrating both graphical and statistical methods for evaluating the magnitude and impact of heterogeneity. We discuss approaches for presenting characteristics of heterogeneity in meta-analytic findings, and methods for identifying and statistically controlling for aspects of methodological complexity that may contribute to variation in effects across primary studies.

resultsTopics and methods related to assessing and explaining heterogeneity were contextualized in the field of adolescent development using a sample of primary studies from a large meta-analysis examining the effectiveness of brief alcohol interventions for youth. We highlighted approaches currently underutilized in the field and provided R code for key methods to broaden their use.

conclusionsBy discussing various heterogeneity statistics, visualizations, and explanatory methods, this article provides the applied developmental researcher a foundational understanding of complexity and heterogeneity in meta-analysis.

Indexed as

Adolescent DevelopmentMeta-Analysis as TopicAdolescentHumansHeterogeneityMeta-analysisMeta-regressionMethodological complexityR

Identifiers

PMID31739275
PMCPMC6934259
OpenAlexW2986001895

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.