Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Efficacy and Effectiveness of the Unified Protocol for Emotional Disorders in Group Format for Adults

Little is known about the efficacy and effectiveness of the Unified Protocol for Emotional Disorders in group format. A systematic review of the research of this intervention (UP) was conducted, and a meta-analysis of the efficacy and effectiveness was made. We searched for studies in the databases Web of Science, PubMed, PsycInfo, PSICODOC, Scholar Google, EBSCOhost, SpringerLink, and Sage Publications. We used a fixed effects model. Effect sizes were measured using Hedges’ g (adjusted), and heterogeneity was calculated using Cochran’s Q and I2. The psychological variables on which we assessed the effect of the intervention were anxiety and depressive symptoms, positive and negative affect, quality of life, and social adjustment. We located 115 studies that applied the UP, including 7 studies for the efficacy analysis (randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies) and 24 for the effectiveness analysis (RCT and non-RCT studies). The analyses suggest that the UP presents high efficacy reducing anxiety (1.29) and depressive (1.54) symptoms, as well as high effectiveness in decreasing negative affect (0.78), anxiety (1.08), and depressive (1.02) symptoms and increasing quality of life (1.01), social adjustment (0.62), and positive affect (0.59). We found heterogeneity in the analyses performed. This heterogeneity could be explained by the differences between the heterogeneous studies and the rest of the studies. The UP in group format for adults represents a highly effective and efficient alternative for treating emotional problems.