scholarly journals Is psychotherapy effective? A re-analysis of treatments for depression

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (03) ◽  
pp. 268-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Munder ◽  
C. Flückiger ◽  
F. Leichsenring ◽  
A. A. Abbass ◽  
M. J. Hilsenroth ◽  
...  

AbstractAimsThe aim of this study was to reanalyse the data from Cuijpers et al.'s (2018) meta-analysis, to examine Eysenck's claim that psychotherapy is not effective. Cuijpers et al., after correcting for bias, concluded that the effect of psychotherapy for depression was small (standardised mean difference, SMD, between 0.20 and 0.30), providing evidence that psychotherapy is not as effective as generally accepted.MethodsThe data for this study were the effect sizes included in Cuijpers et al. (2018). We removed outliers from the data set of effects, corrected for publication bias and segregated psychotherapy from other interventions. In our study, we considered wait-list (WL) controls as the most appropriate estimate of the natural history of depression without intervention.ResultsThe SMD for all interventions and for psychotherapy compared to WL controls was approximately 0.70, a value consistent with past estimates of the effectiveness of psychotherapy. Psychotherapy was also more effective than care-as-usual (SMD = 0.31) and other control groups (SMD = 0.43).ConclusionsThe re-analysis reveals that psychotherapy for adult patients diagnosed with depression is effective.

2009 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 484-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. D. Williams ◽  
R. Harris ◽  
C. M. Dayan ◽  
J. Evans ◽  
J Gallacher ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasir Elhassan ◽  
Fares Alahdab ◽  
Alessandro Prete ◽  
Danae Delivanis ◽  
Aakanksha Khanna ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Kvarven ◽  
Eirik Strømland ◽  
Magnus Johannesson

Andrews & Kasy (2019) propose an approach for adjusting effect sizes in meta-analysis for publication bias. We use the Andrews-Kasy estimator to adjust the result of 15 meta-analyses and compare the adjusted results to 15 large-scale multiple labs replication studies estimating the same effects. The pre-registered replications provide precisely estimated effect sizes, which do not suffer from publication bias. The Andrews-Kasy approach leads to a moderate reduction of the inflated effect sizes in the meta-analyses. However, the approach still overestimates effect sizes by a factor of about two or more and has an estimated false positive rate of between 57% and 100%.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Alvaro Coles ◽  
Jeff T. Larsen ◽  
Heather Lench

The facial feedback hypothesis suggests that an individual’s experience of emotion is influenced by feedback from their facial movements. To evaluate the cumulative evidence for this hypothesis, we conducted a meta-analysis on 286 effect sizes derived from 138 studies that manipulated facial feedback and collected emotion self-reports. Using random effects meta-regression with robust variance estimates, we found that the overall effect of facial feedback was significant, but small. Results also indicated that feedback effects are stronger in some circumstances than others. We examined 12 potential moderators, and three were associated with differences in effect sizes. 1. Type of emotional outcome: Facial feedback influenced emotional experience (e.g., reported amusement) and, to a greater degree, affective judgments of a stimulus (e.g., the objective funniness of a cartoon). Three publication bias detection methods did not reveal evidence of publication bias in studies examining the effects of facial feedback on emotional experience, but all three methods revealed evidence of publication bias in studies examining affective judgments. 2. Presence of emotional stimuli: Facial feedback effects on emotional experience were larger in the absence of emotionally evocative stimuli (e.g., cartoons). 3. Type of stimuli: When participants were presented with emotionally evocative stimuli, facial feedback effects were larger in the presence of some types of stimuli (e.g., emotional sentences) than others (e.g., pictures). The available evidence supports the facial feedback hypothesis’ central claim that facial feedback influences emotional experience, although these effects tend to be small and heterogeneous.


2018 ◽  
Vol 79 (S 01) ◽  
pp. S1-S188
Author(s):  
John Leonetti ◽  
Matthew Bartindale ◽  
Jeffrey Heiferman ◽  
Cara Joyce ◽  
Neelam Balasubramanian

2020 ◽  
pp. oemed-2020-106418
Author(s):  
Chen Chen ◽  
Felicia Wu

ObjectivesMethicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an increasing public health concern worldwide. The objective of this study was to calculate a summary odds ratio (OR) of livestock-associated MRSA colonisation and infection in humans, and to determine specific risk factors in livestock production contributing to MRSA colonisation.MethodsWe screened PubMed and Embase for studies published from 2005 to 2019 inclusive, reporting livestock-associated (LA)-MRSA colonisation and infection among livestock workers/veterinarians, their families, and community members not regularly exposed to livestock. The primary outcome of interest was the OR of LA-MRSA colonisation comparing exposed and control groups. Quality was assessed according to the Newcastle-Ottawa quality assessment scale. A meta-analysis using a random-effects model was conducted to calculate a pooled OR. The heterogeneity in the meta-analysis was assessed using the I² method, and publication bias was evaluated using funnel plots.ResultsA total of 3490 studies were identified by the search, with 37 studies including 53 matched exposed-control groups and 14 038 participants eligible for the meta-analysis. The pooled OR for LA-MRSA among livestock workers and veterinarians is 9.80 (95% CI 6.89 to 13.95; p=0.000; I2=73.4), with no significant publication bias (Egger’s p=0.66). The OR for swine workers was highest at 15.41 (95% CI 9.24 to 25.69), followed by cattle workers (11.62, 95% CI 4.60 to 29.36), veterinarians (7.63, 95% CI 3.10 to 18.74), horse workers (7.45, 95% CI 2.39 to 23.25), livestock workers (5.86, 95% CI 1.14 to 30.16), poultry workers (5.70, 95% CI 1.70 19.11), and industrial slaughterhouse workers (4.69, 95% CI 1.10 to 20.0).ConclusionsLivestock workers, particularly swine farmers, are at significantly higher risk for LA-MRSA colonisation and subsequent infection. These results support the need for preventive practices to reduce LA-MRSA risk among those who handle and treat livestock.Trial registration numberCRD42019120403.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 350-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Botella ◽  
Juan I. Durán

Meta-analysis is a firmly established methodology and an integral part of the process of generating knowledge across the empirical sciences. Meta-analysis has also focused on methodology and has become a dominant critic of methodological shortcomings. We highlight several problematic issues on how we research in psychology: excess of heterogeneity in the results and difficulties for replication, publication bias, suboptimal methodological quality, and questionable practices of the researchers. These and other problems led to a “crisis of confidence” in psychology. We discuss how the meta-analytical perspective and its procedures can help to overcome the crisis. A more cooperative perspective, instead of a competitive one, can shift to consider replication as a more valuable contribution. Knowledge cannot be based in isolated studies. Given the nature of the object of study of psychology the natural unit to generate knowledge must be the estimated distribution of the effect sizes, not the dichotomous decision on statistical significance in specific studies. Some suggestions are offered on how to redirect researchers' research and practices, so that their personal interests and those of science as such are better aligned.


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