Self-Control Interventions with Internalizing Disorders: A Review and Analysis

This article reports the findings of a metanalytic review of self-control therapies for children with internalizing disorders with symptoms of clinically significant severity. A total of 22 studies testing four different types of self-control interventions were reviewed. Characteristics of the studies reviewed are presented and discussed. Self-control therapy was found to be effective with internalizing disorders in general, but to be more effective with disorders primarily affecting mood than with somatic disorders. Self-control therapy appeared to result in lasting, socially significant changes in behavior and was relatively inexpensive to administer. Factors which may impact the effectiveness of self-control therapy are (a) use of more than one self-control treatment per intervention, (b) group therapy as opposed to individual therapy, and (c) self-control therapy with older versus younger children. Limitations of the study are discussed and suggestions for areas of future research are made.