The relative efficacy of bona fide psychotherapies for post-traumatic stress disorder: a meta-analytical evaluation of randomized controlled trials

Table 2 Meta-analyses of the efficacy of different types of treatment at post-treatment regarding primary and secondary outcomes

Treatments	k	Hedges’ g	p	Q	p	I ²
Cognitive behavior therapy (all)	15	−0.02 [−0.17, 0.14]	.843	21.89	.081	38 % (0–64 %)
		−0.03 [−0.18, 0.13]	.735	26.25	.024	50 % (5–70 %)
Trauma focused cognitive behavior therapy with exposure (subgroup)	10	0.03 [−0.15, 0.22]	.724	14.86	.095	42 % (42–88 %)
Exposure	10	0.03 [−0.17, 0.23]	.802	20.05	.018	59 % (59–90 %)
Exposure	7	0.17 [−0.04, 0.37]	.112	4.14	.658	0 % (0–58 %)
		−0.06 [−0.24, 0.13]	.556	6.22	.399	0 % (0–72 %)
Prolonged exposure	7	0.01 [−0.26, 0.28]	.927	14.98	.020	55 % (13–82 %)
		−0.02 [−0.39, 0.35]	.914	26.70	.0002	82 % (54–89 %)
Exposure + prolonged exposure	14	0.10 [−0.07, 0.26]	.240	19.33	.113	33 % (0–63 %)
		−0.02 [−0.20, 0.17]	.853	33.18	.002	57 % (31–78 %)
EMDR	6	0.01 [−0.45, 0.48]	.959	17.02	.005	70 % (35–87 %)
		0.17 [−0.32, 0.66]	.505	17.97	.003	73 % (39–87 %)
Present-centered therapies	6	−0.17 [−0.32, 0.00]	.038	4.38	.496	15 % (0–72 %)
		−0.04 [−0.15, 0.07]	.468	5.39	.370	0 % (0–77 %)
TF vs. NTF	9	0.14 [0.01, 0.27]	.030	7.31	.504	8 % (8–80 %)
		0.06 [−0.04, 0.15]	.269	9.16	.329	0 % (0–96 %)

Note. k = number of comparisons; Q = statistic of effect size heterogeneity. Values of Hedges’ g and I ² are presented alongside their 95 % confidence intervals. Hedges’ g > 0 signifies a higher efficacy for the type of treatment of interest compared to all other available treatments, Hedges’ g < 0 signifies a lower efficacy. Per type of treatment, values in the first line pertain to primary outcomes (i.e., PTSD symptom severity), values in the second line to secondary outcomes (i.e., symptom severity of comorbid disorders, trauma-related symptoms, general symptom distress, social functioning, and quality of life)

ISSN: 1471-244X