Effects of Early Social Robot-Based Interventions for Social–Emotional Development in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Typically Developing Children: A Meta-Analysis

Social robot-based interventions have shown great promise in enhancing social-emotional outcomes in young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and those with typical development (TD). This meta-analysis systematically reviewed articles that investigated the impact of early social robot-based interventions on young children’s (0–8 years old) social-emotional outcomes. The results revealed that the overall effect of early social robot-based interventions on children’s social-emotional development was significant (Hedges’ g = 0.651). The moderating effects of some characteristics of the studies and interventions were examined. The results indicated that children with ASD gained more benefits from the interventions than their peers with TD. The findings highlight that the effects of the interventions varied depending on the different social-emotional outcomes. Interventions with a longer duration and a larger dose in each session produced the largest effect sizes. These findings suggest educators that early social robot-based interventions could be beneficial for facilitating young children’s social-emotional development.