Comprehensive meta-analysis of resilience interventions.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Public Health
• Intervention Science

Background:

• Lack of consensus on operational definitions of resilience hinders research.
• Researchers explore methods to enhance resilience in diverse populations.
• Existing evidence on resilience promotion through interventions requires substantiation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To substantiate existing evidence on resilience promotion through various interventions.
• To examine factors contributing to variability across interventions, including age, gender, duration, approach, and risk exposure.
• To provide a meta-analytic overview of the efficacy of resilience-promoting interventions.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search was conducted on May 28, 2019, using terms like "resilience intervention."
• A multi-level meta-analysis included 268 studies with 1584 independent samples.
• Analyses examined overall efficacy and moderators such as age, gender, intervention length, approach, and risk exposure.

Main Results:

• Resilience-promoting interventions demonstrated a small but statistically significant overall effect (Hedges's g = 0.48).
• Significant variability in study effect sizes was observed (p < .001).
• Many interventions fell short of practical significance thresholds.

Conclusions:

• Findings support the general efficacy of resilience interventions but warrant cautious interpretation.
• Variability in results underscores ambiguities in conceptualizing and operationalizing resilience.
• Future research should address theoretical relevance and practical considerations for resilience interventions.