Buffering the Effects of Poverty and Migration in Family-Based Psychosocial Prevention Programs. a Meta-Analysis of Randomized-Controlled Evaluation Studies

Poverty and migration are increasingly common phenomena and sources of great risk for successful development. Growing up in low-income and migration families is related to poorer outcomes in health, academic, social, emotional, and behavioral measures (Bradley & Corwyn, 2002). For more than 50 years now intervention and prevention programs have been conducted in order to improve the lives of disadvantaged families and especially children, Head Start being a well-known example from the U.S. (Puma et al., 2010). The present meta-analysis will provide a synthesis of effectiveness evaluation studies of such programs. A focus will be placed on comparing programs located in the family-setting, since research keeps stretching the importance of the family as the most essential and influential developmental context of children (Aber, Morris, & Raver, 2012; Coleman et al., 1966; Reynolds, Rolnick, Englund, & Temple, 2010). Hence, the presented research attempts to identify the most promising psychosocial intervention strategies within the family context and will further the understanding of underlying processes in order to provide guidance for future program development.

            Method: In a systematic literature search 26,000 titles were scanned for eligibility: 1) evaluation of a psychosocial family-based prevention programs 2) applying a randomized-controlled design 3) within a low-income and/or migration sample. The search delivered a sample of 106 studies to be included in the meta-analysis.

            Results: Within the sample of studies 66 programs were conducted in a low-income sample, 11 in a migration sample, and 29 in a sample showing both of these characteristics. A random-effects model delivered medium average effects (d = .270, SE = .0283, p = .000). Effects were robust up to a one-year follow-up. Programs aiming to buffer the effects of poverty were most successful in improving family-related outcomes. In migration samples effects on cognitive development were the strongest, while for mixed groups educational outcomes improved the most. Programs aiming to prevent substance abuse (k = 11) and problematic sexual behavior (k= 16) showed mostly non-significant effects, but will be explored more deeply. Different moderators of effectiveness were tested. It can be shown, that programs were significantly more effective when they were conducted in a disadvantaged neighborhood rather than in a setting where participants were recruited from diverse locations. A significant negative linear relationship between attrition in the control group and effect sizes indicates that implementation quality is essential to program effectiveness.