School-Based Interventions for Anxious Children: Long-Term Follow-Up

Area of Science:

• Child and Adolescent Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Mental Health Interventions

Background:

• Anxiety disorders are prevalent in children, necessitating effective and accessible interventions.
• Long-term outcomes of school-based interventions for childhood anxiety require further investigation.
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a recognized treatment for childhood anxiety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the long-term effectiveness of school-based group cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxious children.
• To compare outcomes of CBT for children versus CBT plus parent training against a no-treatment control.
• To assess the durability of treatment gains over a three-year follow-up period.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 61 nonclinical anxious children.
• Interventions included group CBT, group CBT with parent training, and a no-treatment control.
• Longitudinal data collection using parent and child anxiety symptom measures over three years, analyzed with piecewise growth curve modeling.

Main Results:

• Parent-reported anxiety severity significantly decreased in combined CBT groups compared to controls in the initial phase.
• These anxiety reduction gains, based on parent ratings (Clinician Severity Rating), were sustained up to three years posttreatment.
• Child self-reported anxiety reduction did not differ significantly between the CBT and control groups.

Conclusions:

• School-based group CBT, from a parental perspective, is an effective intervention for reducing childhood anxiety severity.
• The benefits of school-based group CBT for childhood anxiety appear to be long-lasting, with gains maintained over three years.
• While parent reports indicate significant benefits, child self-reports did not show similar differences, suggesting a need to consider multiple informants in outcome assessment.