Sexual abuse in children not only occurs with alarming frequency, it also potentially leads to deleterious consequences for victims. Previous narrative reviews have touted the benefits of including the nonoffending caregiver in child sexual treatment. Objective: A meta-analysis is conducted to determine the effects of parent-involved treatment in four major child symptom areas: internalizing, externalizing, sexualized behaviors, and posttraumatic stress. Method: Only comparison/control group studies are included. Participant, treatment, and methodological characteristics of studies are coded, as well as information to calculate effect sizes. An overall effect size is calculated, though the small number of studies precluded moderator analysis. Results: Seven studies are located that met the inclusion criteria. At posttest, treatment had small effects in the four outcome domains over alternative interventions and was reduced still further at follow-up. Conclusion: Parent-involved treatment confers some advantage over comparison conditions (typically child-only treatment).
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