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Parent-child discrepancies in anxiety and depression digital intervention: a meta-analysis on RCT studies
  • Wen Lou,
  • Vaibhavi Venkataramanan,
  • Claudia G. Gaebler
Wen Lou
East China Normal University

Corresponding Author:wlou@infor.ecnu.edu.cn

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Vaibhavi Venkataramanan
University of Nevada Reno
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Claudia G. Gaebler
University of Connecticut
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Abstract

Objective: This meta-analysis investigated parent-child discrepancies in reporting anxiety and depression symptoms during digital interventions for youth. Method: We analyzed 13 randomized controlled trials involving 2,022 children (mean age = 12.25 years, 52.76% female) and 2,069 parents. Studies included digital interventions for anxiety and/or depression, with both parent and child reports. Effect sizes (Hedge’s g) were calculated for intervention and control groups across four time points. Discrepancies were assessed using Bland-Altman plots, Kendall’s Tau, correlation analyses, and paired tests. Results: Small, nonsignificant effects were found for both parent (g = -0.02 to 0.71) and child (g = -0.14 to 0.22) reports across time points. Parent-child agreement varied, with Kendall’s Tau ranging from 0.33 to 1.00 for anxiety and -0.33 to 0.50 for depression. Parents reported larger intervention effects than children, particularly for anxiety at mid-term (parent g = 0.71, child g = 0.15) and depression at short-term (parent g = 1.36, child g = 0.03). However, these differences were not statistically significant. Conclusions: While not statistically significant, notable discrepancies exist between parent and child reports of anxiety and depression symptoms during digital interventions. These findings suggest the importance of considering both perspectives in clinical assessments and research, particularly at different stages of treatment for anxiety and depression.