Effectiveness of Psychosocial Interventions for Youth With Mild Intellectual Disabilities or Borderline Intellectual...

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Developmental Disabilities

Background:

• Externalizing problems are common in youth with mild intellectual disabilities or borderline intellectual functioning (MID-BIF).
• Limited research exists on the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for this specific population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To meta-analyze the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for reducing externalizing problems in youth with MID-BIF.
• To compare effect sizes with those reported for youth without MID-BIF.

Main Methods:

• Systematic search of 2221 studies, including seven studies with 14 effect sizes.
• Multilevel modeling approach to analyze controlled trial and pre-test to post-test effects.
• Assessment of risk of bias in included studies.

Main Results:

• Significant effect sizes were found for both controlled trials (g = 0.49) and pre-test to post-test effects (g = 0.53).
• Heterogeneity of effects could not be determined due to the small number of studies.
• The risk of bias was generally high across the included studies.

Conclusions:

• Psychosocial interventions demonstrate effectiveness in decreasing externalizing problems among youth with MID-BIF.
• The observed effect sizes are comparable to those found in youth without MID-BIF.
• Recommendations for future research and clinical practice are discussed.