Psychological violence in dating relationships among adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prevention...

Teen Psychological Dating Violence (TPDV) is a serious public health concern. However, there is limited evidence on the capacity of programs to prevent this form of violence. This study aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs to evaluate the efficacy of prevention programs for TPDV. PsycINFO/Eric/PsycArticles, PubMed and Web of Science were searched from inception through January 2021 to identify RCTs of prevention programs for adolescents that reported a measure of TPDV. The effect sizes were computed as the difference between the prevention program and control group at post or follow-up assessment by calculating Hedges's g with a random-effect model. Thirteen trials met inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. There was a small but significant effect size in favor of the prevention group as compared to the control condition for victimization (g = 0.23; 95% CI, 0.10 to 0.37; p < 0.001) and perpetration (g = 0.24; 95% CI, 0.12 to 0.37; p < 0.001) of TPDV. Overall, the combined effect size for any TPDV perpetration/victimization was 0.22 (95% CI, 0.11 to 0.34; p < 0.001). Exploratory subgroup analysis showed that programs implemented at multiple levels (such as home, school, community) reported significantly larger effect sizes compared to single-level interventions. Significant differences in effect sizes were also associated with the type of scale used to assess TPDV. Current evidence suggests that intervention programs for TPDV may be effective, particularly when implemented at multiple levels. Further research focusing on refining tools to assess TPDV is needed.