Abstract
This paper examines a 2006 Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal article (Becker-Weidman in Child Adolesc Soc Work J 23:147–171, 2006a) that purported to show the effectiveness of Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP). It is suggested that this claim, based only on weak evidence, has been the foundation of a “woozle” (Nielsen in Psychol Public Policy Law 20:164–180, 2014), a belief system that persists simply because the original statements have been repeated so often. A history of repetition and republication is traced, and current statements by the UK National Health Service and other sources are presented as evidence that acceptance of DDP began with repetition of the 2006 claims. Suggestions are made for editors and reviewers, who are in a position to prevent the creation of new woozles by carefully examining the claims made in submissions to their journals.
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Mercer, J. Revisiting an Article About Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy: The Life Cycle of a Woozle. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 32, 397–404 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-015-0399-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-015-0399-z