THE EFFICACY OF PSYCHOLOGICAL, EDUCATIONAL, AND BEHAVIORAL TREATMENT - CONFIRMATION FROM METAANALYSIS

Conventional reviews of research on the efficacy of psychological, edu cational, and behavioral treatments often find considerable variation in outcome among studies and, as a consequence, fail to reach firm con clusions about the overall effectiveness of the interventions in quest ion. In contrast meta-analytic reviews show a strong, dramatic pattern of positive overall effects that cannot readily be explained as artif acts of meta-analytic technique or generalized placebo effects. Moreov er, the effects are not so small that they can be dismissed as lacking practical or clinical significance. Although meta-analysis has limita tions, there are good reasons to believe that its results are more cre dible than those of conventional reviews and to conclude that well-dev eloped psychological, educational, and behavioral treatment is general ly efficacious.