Efficacy of a Cognitive‑Behavioral Anxiety Management Program Integrated Within a Reading Intervention

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Struggling readers in upper-elementary grades often experience anxiety, which can impede academic progress.
• Existing interventions may not adequately address the co-occurrence of reading difficulties and anxiety.
• A combined intervention could offer a more holistic approach to supporting these students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of a 2-year integrated anxiety management and reading intervention (RANX) for struggling upper-elementary readers.
• To compare the RANX intervention against a reading intervention with math fact practice (RMATH) and a business-as-usual (BaU) control group.
• To examine the intervention's impact on various anxiety outcomes.

Main Methods:

• 128 struggling readers were randomly assigned to RANX, RMATH, or BaU conditions.
• The intervention spanned 2 years, with data collected at baseline, year 1, and year 2 posttests.
• Anxiety outcomes, including physical symptoms, reading anxiety, and social anxiety, were measured.

Main Results:

• The RANX condition showed promising results compared to the BaU condition, though not always statistically significant.
• Students with average anxiety at baseline showed reduced physical anxiety symptoms (Year 1) and reading anxiety (Year 2) in the RANX group.
• Students with elevated anxiety at baseline exhibited reduced social anxiety (Year 2) in the RANX group compared to controls.

Conclusions:

• Integrating anxiety management with reading interventions holds significant promise for struggling readers.
• The RANX intervention demonstrates potential for reducing anxiety symptoms in specific student subgroups.
• Further adequately powered trials are recommended to confirm these findings and explore broader applications.