This meta-analytic review summarizes obesity prevention programs and their effects and investigates participant, intervention, delivery, and design features associated with larger effects. A literature search identified 64 prevention programs seeking to produce weight gain prevention effects, of which 21% produced significant prevention effects…

Traditional reviews and previous meta-analyses of self-concept interventions have underestimated effect sizes by using an implicitly unidimensional perspective that emphasizes global self-concept. In contrast, this research employed a synergistic blend of meta-analysis and multidimensional construct validation to evaluate the impact of…

Meta-analysis aggregated results of 40 investigations involving 2,867 children who averaged 29.6 ("SD" = 8.6) months of age when their attachments to care providers were assessed using either the Strange Situation (SS) or the Attachment Q-Set (AQS). As opposed to parents, secure attachments to nonparental care providers were less likely (using SS)…

Results suggest that (1) sex differences are found for some types of spatial ability but not others; (2) large sex differences are found only on measures of mental rotation; (3) smaller sex differences are found on measures of spatial perception; and (4) when sex differences are found, they can be detected across the life span. (Author/RH)

Examines the findings of self-concept studies and meta-analyses that examine the development of healthy self-concepts in children and adolescents. A theoretical model for self-concept is presented that proposes how healthy self-concepts develop and can be acquired. Recommends that future self-concept research employ only scientifically defensible…

Describes the development of an integrative theoretical model of children's fears that provides a comprehensive view of the normal development of fear. Model components are individual characteristics, fear stimuli, arousal, fear, coping, and adaptation. Suggestions for using the model are presented. (Author)

Maintains that the results of Wellman, Cross, and Watson's meta-analysis on the false belief task are perfectly compatible with "early competence" accounts that posit a specific, innate, and possibly modular basis for theory of mind. Asserts that Wellman and colleagues' arguments against such views stem from mistaken assumptions…

Applies meta-analysis to school-based outcome studies of counseling and psychotherapy within a 10-year period. Results support the effectiveness of school-based therapeutic interventions, although this conclusion is offered with some caution. Findings apply almost exclusively to group interventions. Discusses implication for practice and…

A meta-analysis is presented of 57 studies of sex differences in general population samples on the Standard and Advanced Progressive Matrices (SPM and APM, respectively). Results showed that there is no difference among children aged 6-14 years, but that males obtain higher means from the age of 15 through to old age. Among adults, the male…

A meta-analysis in the form of Brinley plots was conducted on the mean reaction times of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Control groups of children and adolescents on the Stroop Color and Word Test (SCWT). ADHD reaction times were regressed on Control group reaction times for 17 data sets (accessed from 13 published studies).…

Serious sequelae of youth depression, plus recent concerns over medication safety, prompt growing interest in the effects of youth psychotherapy. In previous meta-analyses, effect sizes (ESs) have averaged 0.99, well above conventional standards for a large effect and well above mean ES for other conditions. The authors applied rigorous analytic…

A review of the empirical research literature on Social Stories[TM] is presented, including a descriptive review and single-subject meta-analysis of appropriate studies. Examination of data suggests the effects of Social Stories[TM] are highly variable. Interpretations of extant studies are frequently confounded by inadequate participant…

Background: Adopted children have been said to be difficult children, scarred by their past experiences in maltreating families or neglecting orphanages, or by genetic or pre- and perinatal problems. Is (domestic or international) adoption an effective intervention in the developmental domains of physical growth, attachment security, cognitive…

Meta-analysis was used to synthesize findings from comparative studies of depression in mothers of children with and without developmental disabilities. Effect sizes were determined for 18 studies conducted between 1984 and 2003. A weighted effect size of 0.39 indicated an elevated level of depression in mothers of children with developmental…

The present study, a meta-analysis of 61 studies of self-concept, shows that children with learning disabilities (LD) perceive their academic ability less favorably than their non-LD peers. In contrast to previous research, this study indicated no differences in self-concept as a function of special education setting. Implications for research and…