Snapshots of the ACT RCT evidence base

Snapshots of the ACT RCT evidence base (December 2019):

In December 2019 there were 347 published RCTs and thus subject guide was made. Details of each of these studies, along with links to the original research articles, can be found here. You can use it as a snapshop of the relative distribution of randomized ACT studies as of 2019. As of January 2023, there are now 1,024 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of ACT published in scholarly journals. Thus this is not reliable as a snapshot of the current ACT RCT evidence-base.

It is, of course, the case that evidence from RCTs is only one part of evidence-based intervention, and for some questions and issues it is arguably not the most important. Other pages provide information on meta-analyses, processes of change, mediation, qualitative studies, basic studies, single-case designs, and so on. Mere headcounts do not consider the quality of the evidence, which varies from excellent to poor depending on the specific study. That is one reason meta-analyses are so important since typically they examine research quality and attempt to temper conclusion on that basis.

Area:	Number of studies as of Dec 2019
Anxiety	37
Various	35
Depression	35
Pain	31
Stress	18
Substance Abuse	17
Weight Loss/Obesity	17
Social Anxiety	15
Cancer	14
Parenting	11
Psychosis	9
Smoking	8
Couple / Marital Relations	8
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder	7
Multiple Sclerosis	7
Quality of Life	7
Diabetes	6
Eating Disorders	6
Prevention	5
Stigma	5
Exercise	5
Fibromyalgia	4
Sleep	4
Training	4
Sports Performance	4
Dialysis	3
Occupational Outcomes	3
Procrastination	3
Suicide	3
Borderline Personality Disorder	2
Bowel Diseases	2
Epilepsy	2
Health Behaviors	2
HIV	2
Tinnitus	2
Trichotillomania	2
Aggression	1
Asthma	1
Attention	1
Confidence	1
Gambling	1
Perfectionism	1
Pornography	1
Pregnancy	1
Psychological Flexibility	1
Skill Coaching	1
Somatic Syndromes	1
Stroke	1
Trauma	1