A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of Psychological Interventions in Improving Mental Health of Students at Exceptional Talent Schools (SAMPAD) of Iran

Abstract

Aim: The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to examine the effectiveness of psychological interventions in improving students' mental health at Exceptional Talent Schools of Iran. Methods: The present research was a systematic review and meta-analysis, and its statistical population consisted of all domestic studies that were searched using keywords, including the SAMPAD and Exceptional Talent students in databases, namely Ensani.ir, SID.ir, Google Scholar, the Iranian Research Institute for Information Science and Technology (IranDoc), and Magiran.com. Using a purposive sampling method, we found 327 studies and finally reviewed 18 methodologically acceptable studies. The research tool was according to the PRISMA guideline in the systematic review method, and we used the meta-analysis checklist tool in the meta-analysis method. Results: According to the results, the positivism intervention, emotional regulation, and successful intelligence, as well as anxiety and self-confidence with the highest prevalence had the highest contribution in terms of psychological-educational interventions. The highest effect size belonged to a study by Lahijanian et al. (2020) on the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy on self-perception and the less effect size belonged to a study by Niknam et al. (2017) on the effectiveness of creative problem-solving training on social adjustment. Conclusion: The psychological interventions were effective in improving students' mental health at Exceptional Talent Schools; hence, it seems that psychological interventions can be used as a suitable way to improve students' mental health at Exceptional Talent Schools.