Externalizing disorders are the most common and persistent form of maladjustment in childhood. For this reason the development of evidence-based treatments is of upmost important. The aim of this study is to conduct a systematic and quantitative meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to evaluate the effectiveness of intervention programs on externalizing disorders in childhood. The literature search was conducted on databases PsycInfo and PsycARTICLES, Medline and PubMed, EBSCO. The articles were selected and evaluated by two evaluators independently. The results show that cognitive behavioral treatments are effective in the treatment of externalizing conduct. Hovewer, taking into account the internalizing behaviors and maternal depression, the results showed no significant differences between the group treated with cognitive-behavioral interventions and the control group. In order to produce an improvement in the overall functioning treatments for externalizing disorders, treatments could benefit of interventions direct to the internalizing symptoms and parental depression.
Keywords: Externalizing disorders, cognitive behavioural treatment, meta-analysis, internalizing disorders, maternal depression.

Olga Ines Luppino, Gemma Battagliese, Maria Caccetta, Chiara Baglioni, Silvia Carlucci, Alessandra Mancini, Sabina Marianelli, Carlo Buonanno, Effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral intervention programs for externalizing disorders in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis in "QUADERNI DI PSICOTERAPIA COGNITIVA" 31/2012, pp. 47-50, DOI:10.3280/QPC2012-031005