Efficacy of psychosocial interventions for young offspring of parents with a serious physical or mental illness: Systematic review and meta-analysis
Abstract
Serious parental physical or mental illness significantly increases the risk of adverse adjustment outcomes in adolescents and young adults. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluates the efficacy of psychosocial interventions targeting this vulnerable group. Eligible randomized control trials (RCTs) were searched through the Medline, Web of Science, PsycINFO, PsycArticles, Cinahl, and ProQuest Dissertation and Theses databases. Young offspring outcomes included: psychological (including internalizing and externalizing problems), positive, and interpersonal adjustment. Thirty-one manuscripts reporting on twenty-seven independent RCTs, including 3590 adolescent and young adult offspring, met eligibility criteria. Most of the studies targeted adolescents with a mean age within ±1 SD of 12.17-16.33 years, with only one study directly targeting young adults. Three-quarters of studies included parental mental illness, and the remaining parental physical illness. Results highlighted a small post-intervention effect for psychological adjustment (d = 0.17,[0.05,0.29], p = .006), maintained at short-term (3-12 months) follow-up (d = 0.33 [0.12,0.54], p = .002), but not at long-term (15 months or longer) follow-up (d = -0.00 [-0.19,0.19], p = .98). A similar pattern emerged for internalizing problems, while for externalizing problems, no significant post-intervention effect was detected. Results also showed a small post-intervention effect for positive adjustment (d =…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Improving sleep quality leads to better mental health: A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
- Tocilizumab in patients with severe COVID-19: a retrospective cohort study
- A new aging measure captures morbidity and mortality risk across diverse subpopulations from NHANES IV: A cohort study
- Fruit, vegetable, and legume intake, and cardiovascular disease and deaths in 18 countries (PURE): a prospective cohort study
- Are noise and air pollution related to the incidence of dementia? A cohort study in London, England
- Long COVID symptoms and duration in SARS-CoV-2 positive children — a nationwide cohort study
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.