Research in Emotional or Behavioral Disorders: Does it Examine Study Quality and Null Results?

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to determine the extent to which interventions focused on children with, or at risk for, emotional or behavioural disorders (E/BD) could be considered as evidence-based practices. Experiment one examined the extent to which meta-analytic and systematic reviews included quality indicators as a criterion for study inclusion and whether they addressed, and accounted for, the file drawer problem. Of the 34 included systematic and meta-analytic reviews, only six addressed the quality of the included studies while only two addressed the file drawer problem as potential publication bias. Experiment two examined the extent to which three prominent journals that focus predominately on studies regarding intervention efficacy for children with, or at risk for, E/BD publish null results. Of the 215 included studies, none reported null results.  Implications for determining evidence-based practices and changing the culture of how systematic and meta-analytic reviews are conducted and the publication of only interventions studies with positive results is discussed.