Do you want to find the latest evidence concerning mental ill-health in young people?
The Evidence Finder tool allows you to search published studies of treatment and prevention strategies for mental health and substance use issues in young people. You can use the filters to refine your search or browse by category.
Disorders - anxiety disorders
Mendlowitz, S. L., Manassis, K., Bradley, S., Scapillato, D., Miezitis, S., Shaw, B. F.
Objectives: This study examined (1) the effect of a cognitive-behavioral group intervention on anxiety, depression, and coping strategies in school- age children (aged 7-12 years) with Axis I anxiety disorders; and (2) the effect of parental involvement on treatment outcomes. Method: Parents and children (N = 62) were randomly assigned to one of three 12-week treatment conditions: parent and child intervention, child-only intervention, and parent-only intervention. Child anxiety, depression, and coping strategies were assessed before and after treatment. Results: All treatment groups reported fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression posttreatment and changes in their use of coping strategies. Children in the parent and child intervention used more active coping strategies posttreatment compared with children in the other 2 treatment conditions. Parents in this treatment condition reported a significantly greater improvement in their children's emotional well-being than parents in the other treatment conditions. Conclusions: Cognitive-behavioral group interventions reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression in school-age children with anxiety disorders. Concurrent parental involvement enhanced the effect on coping strategies. Further investigation is needed to corroborate the effectiveness of such short-term interventions and the maintenance of treatment effects.
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry., 38(10) : 1223-1229
- Year: 1999
- Problem: Anxiety Disorders (any)
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
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Stage: Disorder established (diagnosed disorder)
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Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Cognitive & behavioural therapies (CBT)
Dadds, M. R., Holland, D. E., Laurens, K. R., Mullins, M., Barrett, P. M., Spence, S. H.
The Queensland Early Intervention and Prevention of Anxiety Project evaluated a child- and family-focused group intervention for preventing anxiety problems in children. This article reports on 12- and 24-month follow-up data to previously reported outcomes at posttreatment and at 6- month follow-up. A total of 1,786 7- to 14-year-olds were screened for anxiety problems using teacher nominations and children's self-report. After diagnostic interviews, 128 children were selected and assigned to either a 10-week school-based child- and parent-focused psychosocial intervention or a monitoring group. Both groups showed improvements immediately at postintervention and at 6-month follow-up; the improvement was maintained in the intervention group only, reducing the rate of existing anxiety disorder and preventing the onset of new anxiety disorders. At 12 months, the groups converged, but the superiority of the intervention group was evident again at 2-year follow-up. Severity of pretreatment diagnoses, gender, and parental anxiety predicted poor initial response to intervention, whereas pretreatment severity was the only predictor of chronicity at 24 months. Overall, follow- up results show that a brief school-based intervention for children can produce durable reductions in anxiety problems.
Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 67(1) : 145-150
- Year: 1999
- Problem: Anxiety Disorders (any)
- Type: Controlled clinical trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
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Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Other Psychological Interventions
Cobham, V. E., Spence, S. H., Dadds, M. R.
Sixty-seven children aged 7 to 14 who met diagnostic criteria for an anxiety disorder were assigned to conditions according to parental anxiety level. Within these conditions, children were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 treatments: child-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or child- focused CBT plus parental anxiety management (CBT + PAM). At posttreatment, results indicated that within the child-anxiety-only condition, 82% of the children in the CBT condition no longer met criteria for an anxiety disorder compared with 80% in the CBT + PAM condition. Within the child + parental anxiety condition, 39% in the CBT condition no longer met criteria compared with 77% in the CBT + PAM condition. At follow-up, these differences were maintained, with some weakening over time. Results were not consistent across outcome measures. The interpretation and potential clinical implications of these findings are discussed.
Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 66(6) : 893-905
- Year: 1998
- Problem: Anxiety Disorders (any)
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Disorder established (diagnosed disorder)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Cognitive & behavioural therapies (CBT)
, Other Psychological Interventions
Dadds, M. R., Spence, S. H., Holland, D. E., Barrett, P. M., Laurens, K. R.
The Queensland Early Intervention and Prevention of Anxiety Project evaluated the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral and family-based group intervention for preventing the onset and development of anxiety problems in children. A total of 1,786 7- to 14-year-olds were screened for anxiety problems using teacher nominations and children's self-report. After recruitment and diagnostic interviews, 128 children were selected and assigned to a 10-week school-based child- and parent-focused psychosocial intervention or to a monitoring group. Both groups showed improvements immediately postintervention. At 6 months follow-up, the improvement maintained in the intervention group only, reducing the rate of existing anxiety disorder and preventing the onset of new anxiety disorders. Overall, the results showed that anxiety problems and disorders identified using child and teacher reports can be successfully targeted through an early intervention school-based program.
Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 65(4) : 627-635
- Year: 1997
- Problem: Anxiety Disorders (any)
- Type: Controlled clinical trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Cognitive & behavioural therapies (CBT)
, Other Psychological Interventions
Kendall, P. C., Flannery-Schroeder, E., Panichelli-Mindel, S. M., Southam-Gerow, M., Henin, A., Warman, M.
Ninety-four children (aged 9-13 years) with anxiety disorders were randomly assigned to cognitive behavioral treatment or waiting-list control. Outcomes were evaluated using diagnostic status, child self-reports, parent and teacher reports, cognitive assessment and behavioral observation; maintenance was examined using 1-year follow-up data. Analyses of dependent measures indicated significant improvements over time, with the majority indicating greater gains for those receiving treatment. Treatment gains returned cases to within nondeviant limits (i.e., normative comparisons) and were maintained at 1-year follow-up. Client age and comorbid status did not moderate outcomes. A preliminary examination of treatment segments suggested that the enactive exposure (when it follows cognitive educational training) was an active force in beneficial change. Discussion includes suggestions for future research.
Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 65(3) : 366-380
- Year: 1997
- Problem: Anxiety Disorders (any)
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Disorder established (diagnosed disorder)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Cognitive & behavioural therapies (CBT)
Wenck, L. S., Leu, P. W., D'Amato, R. C.
This study explored the reduction of anxiety with children using a combination of electromyograph and thermal biofeedback techniques. One hundred and fifty children (7th and 8th graders) were identified by teachers as anxious and randomly assigned to biofeedback intervention and no- intervention groups. Biofeedback intervention subjects received 6 sessions of thermal training and 6 sessions of electromyographic training over a 6 week period. A post-test anxiety scale demonstrated a significant reduction in both state and trait anxiety. This study suggested biofeedback as a viable intervention which might be coordinated and provided by psychologists to reduce anxiety in children.
Journal of Clinical Psychology., 52(4) : 469-473
- Year: 1996
- Problem: Anxiety Disorders (any)
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Biofeedback, neurofeedback, audio/video feedback
Kendall, P. C.
In this study a psychosocial treatment for 47 Ss (aged 9-13 years) with anxiety disorders was investigated. A 16-session cognitive-behavioral treatment was compared with a wait-list condition. Outcome was evaluated using child self-report, parent report, teacher report, cognitive assessment, and behavioral observations. Pretreatment-posttreatment changes and maintenance of gains at 1-year follow-up were examined. Results revealed that many treated Ss were found to be without a diagnosis at posttest and at follow-up and to be within normal limits on many measures. The child's perception of the therapeutic relationship and the therapist's perception of parental involvement were measured but were not related to outcome. Discussion focuses on characteristics of effective child therapy and the need for further research on treatment components and alternative treatment methods.
Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology., 62(1) : 100-110
- Year: 1994
- Problem: Anxiety Disorders (any)
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Disorder established (diagnosed disorder)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Cognitive & behavioural therapies (CBT)