Meta-analytic procedures for social research

Summing up: The Science of Reviewing Research

Wheat from Chaff: Meta-Analysis as Quantitative Literature Review: Reply

Estimates indicate that as many as 1 in 4 Americans will experience a mental health problem or will misuse alcohol or drugs in their lifetimes. These disorders are among the most highly stigmatized health conditions in the United States, and they remain barriers to full participation in society in areas as basic as education, housing, and employment. Improving the lives of people with mental health and substance abuse disorders has been a priority in the United States for more than 50 years. The Community Mental Health Act of 1963 is considered a major turning point in America's efforts to improve behavioral healthcare. It ushered in an era of optimism and hope and laid the groundwork for the consumer movement and new models of recovery. The consumer movement gave voice to people with mental and substance use disorders and brought their perspectives and experience into national discussions about mental health.However over the same 50-year period, positive change in American public attitudes and beliefs about mental and substance use disorders has lagged behind these advances. Stigma is a complex social phenomenon based on a relationship between an attribute and a stereotype that assigns undesirable labels, qualities, and behaviors to a person with that attribute. Labeled individuals are then socially devalued, which leads to inequality and discrimination. This report contributes to national efforts to understand and change attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that can lead to stigma and discrimination. Changing stigma in a lasting way will require coordinated efforts, which are based on the best possible evidence, supported at the national level with multiyear funding, and planned and implemented by an effective coalition of representative stakeholders. Ending Discrimination Against People with Mental and Substance Use Disorders: The Evidence for Stigma Change explores stigma and discrimination faced by individuals with mental or substance use disorders and recommends effective strategies for reducing stigma and encouraging people to seek treatment and other supportive services. It offers a set of conclusions and recommendations about successful stigma change strategies and the research needed to inform and evaluate these efforts in the United States.

Ending Discrimination Against People with Mental and Substance Use Disorders: The Evidence for Stigma Change

The flipped learning approach has been growing in popularity in both higher education and K-12, especially for its potential to increase active learning and student engagement. However, further research is needed to understand exactly how the flipped approach enhances student engagement. This narrative systematic review synthesises literature published between 2012 and 2018, focused on the flipped learning approach in K-12 contexts, and indexed in 7 international databases. 107 articles, book chapters, dissertations, conference papers and grey literature were included for review, and the results are discussed against a bioecological model of student engagement. The results indicate that the majority of research has been undertaken in North American and Asian high schools, heavily focused on student perceptions of flipped learning and achievement within STEM subjects, especially Mathematics, with a slight preference for quantitative methods. Studies in this review found the approach to overwhelmingly support student engagement, with 93% of studies citing at least one dimension of behavioural, affective or cognitive engagement, whereas 50% of studies reported facets of disengagement. Collaborative technologies such as Google Docs, Google Classroom and Edmodo were particularly linked to engagement, with videos not created by teachers more likely to lead to disengagement. Only 12% included a definition of student engagement, and less than half used a theoretical framework. Future empirical research should ensure that all contextual information is included, including year level of student participants, that multiple methods of both quantitative and qualitative data collection are included, and close attention is paid to grounding research in theory. Further research is needed on parent, teacher and school leader perceptions, as well as longitudinal and multiple-class studies.

/pdf/facilitating-student-engagement-through-the-flipped-learning-1my9us0fe9.pdf

Facilitating student engagement through the flipped learning approach in K-12: A systematic review

Assessing the effectiveness of mental health courts: A quantitative review

The popularity, demand, and increased federal and private funding for after-school programs have resulted in a marked increase in after-school programs over the past two decades. After-school programs are used to prevent adverse outcomes, decrease risks, or improve functioning with at-risk youth in several areas, including academic achievement, crime and behavioral problems, socio-emotional functioning, and school engagement and attendance; however, the evidence of effects of after-school programs remains equivocal. This systematic review and meta-analysis, following Campbell Collaboration guidelines, examined the effects of after-school programs on externalizing behaviors and school attendance with at-risk students. A systematic search for published and unpublished literature resulted in the inclusion of 24 studies. A total of 64 effect sizes (16 for attendance outcomes; 49 for externalizing behavior outcomes) extracted from 31 reports were included in the meta-analysis using robust variance estimation to handle dependencies among effect sizes. Mean effects were small and non-significant for attendance and externalizing behaviors. A moderate to large amount of heterogeneity was present; however, no moderator variable tested explained the variance between studies. Significant methodological shortcomings were identified across the corpus of studies included in this review. Implications for practice, policy and research are discussed.

Effects of After-School Programs with At-Risk Youth on Attendance and Externalizing Behaviors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

This paper sought to synthesize what is currently known about mentally ill offenders in American jails and prisons based upon the most recent government and congressional reports and relevant literature review. The primary goal is to provide a detailed picture of the status of mentally ill offenders—including prevalence, basic demographic information, bio-psychosocial status, mental health, and family histories—and also to identify the problems, conditions, and obstacles faced while under the jurisdiction of the criminal justice system. Mentally ill offenders are constitutionally guaranteed basic mental health treatment. A review of the literature indicates that this constitutional guarantee is not being adequately fulfilled. Implications and suggestions for change are discussed.

/pdf/mentally-ill-offenders-involved-with-the-u-s-criminal-1i3oksqc24.pdf

Mentally Ill Offenders Involved With the U.S. Criminal Justice System: A Synthesis

Objective:This study examined whether and to what extent researchers addressed intervention fidelity in research of after-school programs serving at-risk students.Method:Systematic review procedure...

Fidelity in After-School Program Intervention Research: A Systematic Review

Mental health courts (MHC) are treatment oriented court diversion programs that seek to redirect individuals with severe mental illnesses (SMI), such as those with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression, who have committed a crime, into court mandated treatment programs instead of the criminal justice system. It is believed that individuals with SMI commit and re-commit offenses as a result of their illness and if directed to the appropriate treatments, would be less likely to offend. Currently, there are over 150 MHCs nationally operating in at least 35 states, yet a gap remains in the scientific literature concerning their ability to reduce recidivism and clinical outcomes. To determine their effectiveness in reducing recidivism and improving clinical outcomes, the first meta-analytic study of these courts was conducted. A systematic search of the literature through May 2008, as well as an e-mail survey, generated 23 studies representing 129 outcomes with over 11,000 MHC participants. Aggregate effects for recidivism revealed a mean effect size of -0.52. MHCs had a small to medium positive effect of 0.28 on a participant's quality of life. Among quasi-experimental studies, there was a small effect size of - 0.14 for clinical outcomes indicating a positive improvement. Based on this analysis, MHCs are effective interventions for reducing recidivism and improving clinical and quality of life outcomes.

/pdf/assessing-the-effectiveness-of-mental-health-courts-a-meta-3fgmnwo50p.pdf

Christine M. Sarteschi

Papers

Assessing the effectiveness of mental health courts: A quantitative review

Effects of After-School Programs with At-Risk Youth on Attendance and Externalizing Behaviors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Mentally Ill Offenders Involved With the U.S. Criminal Justice System: A Synthesis

Fidelity in After-School Program Intervention Research: A Systematic Review

Assessing the effectiveness of mental health courts: A meta-analysis of clinical and recidivism outcomes