Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
J Adolesc Health. 2022 Aug;71(2):147-156. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2022.02.011. Epub 2022 Apr 13.
Poverty alleviation programs, such as cash transfers and monetary grants, may not only lift people out of poverty but, some argue, may improve mental health as well. However, to date, the impact of such programs on children and adolescents' mental health is unclear. We carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of poverty alleviation interventions providing monetary support and reporting mental health outcomes in 0-19 year olds in low-, middle-, and high-income countries. We searched 11 databases for research published between January 1, 1990 and June 1, 2020 and included interventions offering unconditional and/or conditional monetary support and reporting mental health outcomes. After screening 7,733 unique articles, we included 14 papers (16,750 children and adolescents at follow-up) in our narrative summary. We meta-analyzed data on internalizing symptoms from 8 papers (13,538 children and adolescents analyzed). This indicated a small but significant reduction in adolescents' internalizing problems postintervention compared to control (odds ratio 0.72, 95% confidence interval 0.59-0.88, p < .01; I = 67%, τ = 0.05, p < .01). Our narrative synthesis provides further support for the overall effectiveness of cash programs but also notes that monetary support alone may not be sufficient in extreme risk settings and that imposing conditions may be actively harmful for the mental health of adolescent girls. We provide causal evidence that monetary interventions reduce internalizing symptoms of adolescents experiencing poverty. We recommend that future programming thoughtfully considers whether to apply conditions as part of their interventions and highlight the importance of providing additional comprehensive support for children and adolescents living in extreme risk settings.
扶贫计划，如现金转移和货币赠款，不仅可以使人们摆脱贫困，而且有人认为，还可以改善心理健康。然而，迄今为止，此类计划对儿童和青少年心理健康的影响尚不清楚。我们对在中低收入国家开展的提供货币支持并报告 0-19 岁儿童青少年心理健康结果的扶贫干预措施进行了系统评价和荟萃分析。我们在 11 个数据库中搜索了 1990 年 1 月 1 日至 2020 年 6 月 1 日期间发表的研究，并纳入了提供无条件和/或有条件货币支持并报告心理健康结果的干预措施。在筛选了 7733 篇独特的文章后，我们在叙述性总结中纳入了 14 篇论文（16750 名儿童和青少年在随访中）。我们对 8 篇论文（分析了 13538 名儿童和青少年）的内化症状数据进行了荟萃分析。这表明与对照组相比，干预后青少年的内化问题有较小但显著的减少（比值比 0.72，95%置信区间 0.59-0.88，p <.01；I = 67%，τ = 0.05，p <.01）。我们的叙述性综合进一步支持现金计划的总体有效性，但也指出，在极端风险环境中，仅提供货币支持可能是不够的，而且对青少年女孩施加条件可能会对其心理健康产生积极的危害。我们提供了货币干预措施可降低贫困青少年内化症状的因果证据。我们建议未来的规划方案认真考虑是否将条件作为其干预措施的一部分，并强调为生活在极端风险环境中的儿童和青少年提供额外全面支持的重要性。
