Systematic review of the efficacy of cognitive behaviour therapies for childhood and adolescent anxiety disorders

Abstract

Purpose: To review the effectiveness of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) as a treatment for anxiety disorders of childhood and adolescence. Method: Studies were included if they treated young people (under 19 yrs) with diagnosed anxiety disorder (excluding trials solely treating phobia, PTSD or OCD), had a no‐treatment control group, and used diagnosis as an outcome variable. A search of the literature, incorporating electronic databases, hand search and expert consultation, yielded 10 randomized controlled trials that were appropriate for inclusion. Results: The outcome of interest was remission of anxiety disorder. Employing conservative criteria, the remission rate in the CBT groups (56.5%) was higher than that in the control groups (34.8%). The pooled odds ratio was 3.3 (CI = 1.9–5.6), suggesting that CBT has a significant effect. Conclusions: CBT is useful for the treatment of anxiety in children over the age of 6 years. However, we still know little about the treatment of younger children or about the comparative efficacy of alternative treatments. Most of the trials were efficacy trials, and have limited generalizability. Reporting of many aspects of the trials was weak.

Investigating the Relationship among Co-Parenting, Maternal Parenting Stress, and Preschoolers' Anxiety and Hyperactivity

“…일시적인 불안은 대부분 정상발 달의 일부로 간주되었지만, 불안의 경험을 자주할수록 아동 의 생활에 부정적인 영향을 주는 것으로 나타났다 . 실제로 아동기의 불안은 학교나 교우관계, 그리고 자 유활동 등에 대한 회피 및 만성 긴장상태, 근심, 걱정에서부 터 심한 장애를 나타내는 것까지 기능상의 심각한 문제와 관 련이 있었으며 (Cha, 2007), 아동기의 불안이 청소년 및 성인 기까지 이어진다는 심각성이 보고되었다 (Cartwright et al, 2004) (Anderson, 2007). 또한, 어머니의 양육 스트레스는 아동의 불안 및 사회적 부적응과 관련되었고 (Abidin, 1995), 아동의 공격성, 과잉행동과 같은 외현화 문 제를 야기하는 것으로 나타났다 (Anderson, 2007).…”

A New Parenting-Based Group Intervention for Young Anxious Children: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial

“…A systematic review of trials comparing CBT for anxious youth to wait-list 6 reported that 56.5% of treated participants were free of their primary anxiety, with an odds ratio of 3.3. This compares to 57% of participants in this study, and an odds ratio of 7.35.…”

“…According to a systematic review, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is quite effective for older children and adolescents, but there is little evidence that it is as effective for younger children 6 . Most studies examining CBT in the pre-adult population have either excluded children, or have reported results for children and adolescents combined.…”

Evidence Base Update: 50 Years of Research on Treatment for Child and Adolescent Anxiety

“…In addition to more traditional models of ''leveling'' treatments to denote their efficacy (e.g., Chambless & Hollon, 1998), other factors such as feasibility, generalizability, cost, and magnitude and range of the effects must be taken into consideration as well to give a more complete assessment of the suitability of any given treatment for application in practice settings (see Chorpita et al, 2002). Indeed, one review reported that after receiving an empirically supported treatment (cognitive-behavioral therapy [CBT]) for an anxiety disorder, only 56.5% of children were diagnosis free, compared with 34.8% of participants assigned to a waitlist control condition (Cartwright-Hatton, Roberts, Chitsabesan, Fothergill, & Harrington, 2004). These findings reveal that reliance on the single outcome indicator of posttreatment diagnostic status might potentially underestimate the positive effect of this treatment for child and adolescent anxiety.…”