A systematic review and meta-analysis of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy for children and adolescents

Among minors, posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) are a common consequence of traumatic events requiring trauma-focused treatment.

This meta-analysis quantified treatment effects of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) with PTSS as primary outcome and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and grief as secondary outcomes.

Inclusion criteria for individual settings: (1) patients aged between 3 and 21, (2) at least one traumatic event, (3) minimum 8 sessions of (4) TF-CBT according to Cohen, Mannarino and Deblinger (2006, 2017), (5) a quantitative PTSS measure at pre- and post-treatment, (6) original research only. Inclusion criteria for group settings: had to involve (1) psychoeducation, (2) coping strategies, (3) exposure, (4) cognitive processing/restructuring, (5) contain some reference to the manual and no minimum session number was required.

Searched databases were PsychInfo, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, PTSDPubs, PubMed, Web of Science, and OpenGrey.

4523 participants from 28 RCTs and 33 uncontrolled studies were included. TF-CBT showed large improvements across all outcomes from pre- to post-treatment (PTSS: g = 1.14, CI 0.97-1.30) and favorable results compared to any control condition including wait-list, treatment as usual, and active treatment at post-treatment (PTSS: g = 0.52, CI 0.31-0.73). Effects were more pronounced for group settings. We give pooled estimates adjusted for risk of bias and publication bias, which initially limited the quality of the analyzed data.

TF-CBT is an effective treatment for pediatric PTSS as well as for depressive, anxiety, and grief symptoms. It is superior to control conditions, supporting international guidelines recommending it as a first-line treatment.