Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Interventions to Improve Children's Social Information-Processing Skills

  • Jin Peng
  • , Jiyue Li
  • , Danyi Li
  • , Yihua Fang
  • , Chi Zhang
  • , Mark W. Fraser
  • , Shenyang Guo

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    10 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    Purpose: We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention research studies focused on strengthening the social information-processing (SIP) skills of children. Methods: A systematic search and review process was employed to identify, screen, and summarize research on SIP-guided interventions. Results: The search recovered 183,184 citations published from 1997 to 2022. After screening, 42 articles were retained for a full-text review. Findings from the 15 studies using more rigorous designs [i.e., 8 individual-level randomized control trials (RCTs), 5 cluster-level RCTs, and 2 quasi-experimental studies with statistical controls for selectivity] suggest that SIP-focused interventions produced statistically significant treatment effects on cognitive skills, with mean effect sizes of 0.35 on encoding, 0.13 on hostile attribution bias, 0.13 on goal formulation, 0.16 on response decision, and—more behaviorally—0.37 on aggressive and disruptive comportment. Conclusions: SIP-focused interventions are effective. If widely implemented, they hold the potential to reduce aggressive behavior in childhood.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)507-534
    Number of pages28
    JournalResearch on Social Work Practice
    Volume34
    Issue number5
    DOIs
    StatePublished - Jul 2024

    Keywords

    • aggression
    • childhood
    • children
    • emotional regulation
    • intervention research
    • social information-processing
    • social skills training
    • social–emotional learning

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