Sprang, G. (2009). The efficacy of a relational treatment for maltreated children and their families. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 14(2), 81-88.
Study design characteristics contributing to rating
| Design | Attrition | Baseline equivalence | Confounding factors? | Valid, reliable measures? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Randomized controlled trial | Low |
Established on race; not established on SES; established on two of four outcome measures assessable at baseline. |
Yes |
Not assessed in manuscripts reviewed under Handbook of Procedures and Standards, Version 1 |
Notes from the review of this manuscript
A confound in the study design resulted in an automatic low rating. Study participants were randomized into treatment and control groups using a procedure in which every fourth case was designated as a wait-list control. This is a cluster random assignment procedure, in which the cluster is defined by a participant’s position on the registration list. The study’s confound is that there is only one cluster in the comparison group.