A Meta-Analysis of Group Interventions for Trauma and Depression Among Immigrant and Refugee Children

Purpose: A meta-analysis of group interventions to reduce post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and/or depression among refugee and immigrant children and adolescents. Methods: A systematic search was followed by independent reviews of each study for risk of bias. The meta-analysis pooled between- and within-condition effect sizes on PTSS and depression across studies using a random-effects model. Results: The search yielded 16 studies utilizing eight interventions involving 976 participants. For all studies, within conditions, there were good effects on PTSS (d = 0.66, 95% CI [0.86, 0.46]) and depression (d = 0.51, 95% CI [0.79, 0.23]) with substantial heterogeneity. For studies with control groups, the between-group effect sizes yielded a small effect on PTSS (d = 0.31, 95% CI [0.65, 0.03]) with no significant effect on depression. Conclusions: The interventions helped to reduce PTSS and depression. Most studies lacked rigorous designs and provided little information on group variables needed for replication.