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A randomised controlled trial of a CBT intervention for anxiety in children with Asperger syndrome
Kate Sofronoff1, Tony Attwood, Sharon Hinton
1School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Australia. kate.psy.uq.edu.au
Insights
A brief CBT intervention effectively reduced anxiety in children with Asperger syndrome (AS). Increased parent involvement further enhanced the child's ability to manage anxiety, showing positive outcomes for this population.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Anxiety Disorders
Background:
- Children with Asperger syndrome (AS) often experience anxiety.
- Evaluating interventions for anxiety in AS is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess a brief CBT intervention's effectiveness for anxiety in children with AS.
- To determine if greater parent involvement improves anxiety management skills outside clinical settings.
Main Methods:
- 71 children (10-12 years) with AS and anxiety symptoms participated.
- Participants were randomly assigned to child-only intervention, child-and-parent intervention, or a wait-list control group.
Main Results:
- Both intervention groups showed reduced parent-reported anxiety symptoms.
- Children in interventions improved their strategy generation for anxiety-provoking situations.
- Parent involvement demonstrated significant benefits over child-only intervention.
Conclusions:
- The CBT intervention is effective for children with AS and anxiety.
- Active parent involvement enhances the intervention's utility for managing anxiety.
- Findings support tailored anxiety interventions for children with Asperger syndrome.
Background:
The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief CBT intervention for anxiety with children diagnosed with Asperger syndrome (AS). A second interest was to evaluate whether more intensive parent involvement would increase the child's ability to manage anxiety outside of the clinic setting.
Methods:
Seventy-one children aged ten to twelve years were recruited to participate in the anxiety programme. All children were diagnosed with AS and the presence of anxiety symptoms was accepted on parent report via brief interview. Children were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: intervention for child only, intervention for child and parent, wait-list control.
Results:
The two intervention groups demonstrated significant decreases in parent-reported anxiety symptoms at follow-up and a significant increase in the child's ability to generate positive strategies in an anxiety-provoking situation. There were a number of significant differences between the two interventions to suggest parent involvement as beneficial.
Conclusions:
The sample of children with AS in this study presented with a profile of anxiety similar to a sample of clinically diagnosed anxious children. The intervention was endorsed by parents as a useful programme for children diagnosed with Asperger syndrome and exhibiting anxiety symptoms, and active parent involvement enhanced the usefulness of the programme. Limitations of the study and future research are discussed.
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