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Youth Interventions With and Without Supervised Practice: A Second-Order Meta-Analysis

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Abstract

Supervised practice pairs behavioral rehearsal (i.e., the practice of skills) with constructive and supportive feedback so that learners can enact new skills accurately and develop the motivation to consistently apply these skills. The current review study takes stock of the literature on supervised practice through second-order meta-analysis, a rigorous quantitative method used to aggregate overall effects from previous meta-analyses. Results from five meta-analyses revealed a significant overall effect of supervised practice compared to unsupervised practice (SMD = 0.22). Youth outcome type significantly moderated the effects of supervised practice, with internalizing behavior yielding the largest effect. Findings suggest that providing opportunities for supervised practice has the potential to significantly improve the effectiveness of a range of skills-based interventions. Implications for supervised practice are discussed, including as an adjunct to cognitive behavioral interventions and a valuable role for volunteers and other paraprofessionals in their delivery of research supported care.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 William T. Morrissey Blvd, Boston, MA, 02125, USA

    Kirsten M. Christensen, Cyanea Y. S. Poon, Jeremy Astesano & Jean E. Rhodes

  2. Social and Behavioural Sciences Department, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Mark Assink, Levi van Dam & Geert-Jan Stams

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  1. Kirsten M. Christensen
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  2. Mark Assink
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  3. Levi van Dam
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  5. Cyanea Y. S. Poon
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  6. Jeremy Astesano
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  7. Jean E. Rhodes
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Correspondence to Jean E. Rhodes.

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Due to the nature of the manuscript (i.e., systematic review and second-order meta-analysis), the study was granted exemption by the University of Massachusetts Boston Institutional Review Board and the authors certify that the study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Christensen, K.M., Assink, M., van Dam, L. et al. Youth Interventions With and Without Supervised Practice: A Second-Order Meta-Analysis. Child Adolesc Soc Work J (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-023-00921-4

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