SynthesisBMJ mental health2025
Universal, selective and indicated parenting interventions to prevent the development of adverse mental health outcomes in youth: a meta-review of systematic reviews.
Synthesis in BMJ mental health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Why we need to pursue both universal and targeted prevention to reduce the incidence of affective and psychotic disorders: Systematic review and meta-analysis.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Article
- Article
- Early-life adversity in rodents: Experimental design is of the essence.Neurobiology of stress · 2026Article
- Teacher-Led Universal Eating Disorder Prevention Programmes in Schools: A Scoping Review.European eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association · 2026Article
- Exploring causal mechanisms of psychosis risk.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPreventive interventions in the form of parenting support can reduce the risk of mental disorders in children. Summarising the effectiveness of parenting interventions across different levels of prevention can inform the prioritisation of the intervention.
objectivesWe conducted a meta-review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses on universal, selective and indicated parenting interventions to prevent adverse mental health outcomes in youth. STUDY SELECTION AND ANALYSIS: PubMed, Ovid, Embase and PsycNet were searched. Systematic reviews consisting of randomised controlled trials of preventative parenting interventions were included. We provided a narrative synthesis of the results and assessed the quantity and quality of evidence for each level of prevention (ie, universal, selective, indicated) and mental health outcome.
findingsWe identified 32 systematic reviews and meta-analyses, which included 354 randomised controlled trials, consisting of over 74 558 children and adolescents. Universal parenting interventions were effective in delaying the initiation of alcohol and cannabis use, but did not have consistent findings in preventing disruptive behaviour and mood disorders. Selective interventions were predominantly beneficial for disruptive behavioural problems across a variety of risk factors. Indicated interventions found substantial and consistent evidence for reducing problems in children with behavioural problems. Caution is warranted when interpreting findings, as the overall confidence rating of most reviews was very low, especially in the reporting of study selection and justifying exclusions in the AMSTAR-2.
conclusionsOur findings highlight the need for robust evidence synthesis. Despite the limitations of the current evidence base, parenting interventions hold promise for preventing mental health disorders.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What 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.