Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 6, 2026
10:32
Development of a Virtual Reality Assessment of Everyday Living Skills
Published on: April 23, 2014
Measuring mental health outcomes with pre-post designs
E W Lambert1, A Doucette, L Bickman
1Center for Mental Health Policy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville 37212, USA. Warren.Lambert@Vanderbilt.edu
The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research
|August 11, 2001
Summary
The traditional pre-post evaluation design has significant limitations in outcome assessment. Alternative designs with multiple repeated measures and advanced statistical models offer more reliable results for children's outcome evaluations.
Area of Science:
- Outcome evaluation methodology
- Child psychology and development
- Statistical modeling in research
Background:
- The pre-post design is a widely used method for evaluating outcomes.
- This design is frequently applied in studies involving children's development and treatment.
- Existing literature highlights the long-standing reliance on this evaluation approach.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify inherent structural problems within the pre-post evaluation design.
- To demonstrate the limitations of pre-post designs in outcome assessment for children.
- To propose superior alternative designs and analytical methods for more accurate evaluations.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of data from a study involving 984 treated children (ages 5-17).
- Critique of the pre-post evaluation design's structural limitations.
- Introduction of longitudinal multilevel analytic models for comparative analysis.
Main Results:
- Pre-post designs exhibit excessively large uncertainty intervals for individual outcomes.
- Paradoxical inconsistencies arise when evaluating groups using pre-post designs.
- Alternative designs with three or more repeated measures mitigate these issues.
Conclusions:
- The pre-post design presents significant challenges for accurate outcome evaluation.
- Longitudinal multilevel analytic models combined with designs featuring multiple repeated measures offer a more robust solution.
- These advanced methods enhance the reliability and consistency of outcome assessments in child studies.
Related Concept Videos
02:20Longitudinal Research
Sometimes we want to see how people change over time, as in studies of human development and lifespan. When we test the same group of individuals repeatedly over an extended period of time, we are conducting longitudinal research. Longitudinal research is a research design in which data-gathering is administered repeatedly over an extended period of time. For example, we may survey a group of individuals about their dietary habits at age 20, retest them a decade later at age 30, and then again...
02:01Group Design
The most basic experimental design involves two groups: the experimental group and the control group. The two groups are designed to be the same except for one difference— experimental manipulation. The experimental group gets the experimental manipulation—that is, the treatment or variable being tested—and the control group does not. Since experimental manipulation is the only difference between the experimental and control groups, we can be sure that any differences between the two are due to...
01:52Regression Toward the Mean
Regression toward the mean (“RTM”) is a phenomenon in which extremely high or low values—for example, and individual’s blood pressure at a particular moment—appear closer to a group’s average upon remeasuring. Although this statistical peculiarity is the result of random error and chance, it has been problematic across various medical, scientific, financial and psychological applications. In particular, RTM, if not taken into account, can interfere when researchers try to extrapolate results...
01:16Experimental Designs
An experimental design is a systematic process that allows researchers to evaluate the relationship between dependent and independent variables. There are three widely used types of experimental design - pre-experimental design, true experimental design, and quasi-experimental design. In pre-experimental design, the researcher compares the data before and after some interventions or treatments. The true-experimental design has more than one purposefully created group, a commonly measured...
01:15Bioequivalence Experimental Study Designs: Repeated Measures, Cross-Over, Carry-Over, and Latin Square Designs
Bioequivalence experimental study designs play a pivotal role in testing the effectiveness of various treatments. Key among these are the repeated measures, cross-over, carry-over, and Latin square designs. In the repeated measures design, each subject receives all treatments, allowing for temporal comparisons. This type of design is useful in reducing variability but requires careful planning to avoid bias.The cross-over design, an economical method, involves sequential administration of...
01:20Study Designs in Epidemiology
Epidemiological study designs are fundamental tools for investigating the distribution, determinants, and control of health conditions in populations. They help researchers understand the relationships between exposures and outcomes, and they broadly fall into two categories: "observational" and "experimental" studies.
Observational studies are those where the researcher does not intervene but rather observes natural variations. They include cross-sectional, cohort, and case-control studies.
Observational studies are those where the researcher does not intervene but rather observes natural variations. They include cross-sectional, cohort, and case-control studies.