A systematic review 1 including 21 studies with a total of 959 families was abstracted in DARE. There were 12 RCTs. Child maltreatment (CM) treatment improved outcomes compared with the control (P<0.05). The ESs were statistically homogeneous for child cognitive performance (d=0.28), child self-report (d=0.44), behaviour observation of child (d=0.30), parent self-report (d=0.53) and behavioural observation of the family (d=0.21). The smallest ES was shown for objective behavioural observations of the family (d=0.21, 95% CI: 0.05, 0.37; fail-safe N=0; based on 2 studies), whilst the largest ES was shown for parent self-reporting parenting attitudes (d=0.53, 95% CI: 0.43, 0.63; fail-safe N=12; based on 7 studies).
Comment: The quality of evidence is downgraded by study quality (several problems) and by potential reporting bias.
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