Electronic versions

Links

DOI

  • Frances Gardner
    Oxford University
  • Patti Leijten
    University of Amsterdam
  • G.J. Melendez-Torres
    Cardiff University
  • Sabine Landau
    King's College London
  • Victoria Harris
    King's College London
  • Joanna Mann
    Oxford University
  • Jenny Beecham
    London School of Economics
  • Judy Hutchings
  • Stephen Scott
    King's College London
Strong arguments have been made for early intervention for child problems, stating that early is more effective than later, as the brain is more malleable, and costs are lower. However, there is scant evidence from trials to support this hypothesis, which we therefore tested in two well-powered, state-of-the-art meta-analyses with complementary strengths: (a) Individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis of European trials of Incredible Years parenting intervention (k = 13, n = 1696; age = 2-11); (b) Larger, trial-level robust variance estimation meta-analysis of a wider range of parenting programs (k = 156, n = 13,378, Mage = 2-10) for reducing disruptive behavior. Both analyses found no evidence that intervention earlier in childhood was more effective; programs targeted at a narrower age range were no more effective than general ones.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)7-19
JournalChild Development
Volume90
Issue number1
Early online date14 Sept 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2019
View graph of relations