Within-Group Effect-Size Benchmarks for Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy With Children and Adolescents

Purpose: This article provides benchmark data on within-group effect sizes from published randomized clinical trials (RCTs) supporting the efficacy of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) for traumatized children. Methods: Within-group effect-size benchmarks for symptoms of trauma, anxiety, and depression were calculated via the Glass approach and adjusted for sample size using Hedges’ g. Results: Overall TF-CBT and control group benchmarks are presented, as well as specific benchmarks for sexual abuse and mixed trauma, and whether included studies utilized intent-to-treat analysis. Discussion: Community practitioners can use these benchmarks as a comparison tool to evaluate whether the way they are adopting or adapting the TF-CBT intervention is satisfactory, needs to be modified, or should be replaced by a different intervention approach. These benchmarks also have potential utility for future implementation research on TF-CBT assessing which service provision conditions are associated with effect sizes approximating benchmarks provided in this article.