Self-esteem Interventions in Adults – A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

• Self-esteem interventions are effective in adults. • Cognitive behavioral therapies tend to be the most effective interventions. • Conclusions should consider strong associations between moderators. • More randomized controlled trials are needed in self-esteem interventions research. Many types of intervention are used to boost adults’ self-esteem but their relative efficacy and the characteristics that moderate this efficacy remain unclear. We addressed these questions via a meta-analysis of 119 studies. Results obtained using a random-effects model showed a significant effect of interventions on adults’ global self-esteem, d = 0.38, 95% CI [0.33, 0.43]. This efficacy is moderated by some types of intervention, session format, experimenter contact, population type, and type of control group. We discuss these findings by addressing the limitations of our analyses and some issues related to this field of research (e.g., lack of power, heterogeneity of the studies included, publication bias, confounding effects) and by providing recommendations for future research and clinical practice.