Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2008 May;47(5):593-602.
doi: 10.1097/CHI.0b013e31816765f9.

Early childhood OCD: preliminary findings from a family-based cognitive-behavioral approach

Jennifer B Freeman  1 , Abbe M Garcia  2 , Lisa Coyne  2 , Chelsea Ale  2 , Amy Przeworski  2 , Michael Himle  2 , Scott Compton  2 , Henrietta L Leonard  2
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Early childhood OCD: preliminary findings from a family-based cognitive-behavioral approach

Jennifer B Freeman et al. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2008 May.

Abstract

Objective: To examine the relative efficacy of family-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) versus family-based relaxation treatment (RT) for young children ages 5 to 8 years with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Method: Forty-two young children with primary OCD were randomized to receive 12 sessions of family-based CBT or family-based RT. Assessments were conducted before and after treatment by independent raters blind to treatment assignment. Primary outcomes included scores on the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale and Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement.

Results: For the intent-to-treat sample, CBT was associated with a moderate treatment effect (d = 0.53), although there was not a significant difference between the groups at conventional levels. For the completer sample, CBT had a large effect (d = 0.85), and there was a significant group difference favoring CBT. In the intent-to-treat sample, 50% of children in the CBT group achieved remission as compared to 20% in the RT group. In the completer sample, 69% of children in the CBT group achieved a clinical remission compared to 20% in the RT group.

Conclusions: Results indicate that children with early-onset OCD benefit from a treatment approach tailored to their developmental needs and family context. CBT was effective in reducing OCD symptoms and in helping a large number of children achieve a clinical remission.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00055068.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Consort statement flowchart. dx = diagnosis; RT = relaxation treatment; CBT = cognitive-behavioral therapy; OCD = obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Mean levels of Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) change scores for subjects in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) versus relaxation treatment (RT). Higher scores indicate greater pre- to postchange. ITT = intent-to-treat.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Hollingsworth CE, Tanguay PE, Grossman L, Pabst P. Long-term outcome of obsessive-compulsive disorder in childhood. J Am Acad Child Psychiatry. 1980;19:134–144. - PubMed
    1. Swedo SE, Rapoport JL, Leonard HL, Lenane M, Cheslow D. Obsessive compulsive disorders in children and adolescents: clinical phenomenology of 70 consecutive cases. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1989;46:335–343. - PubMed
    1. Flament MF, Koby E, Rapoport JL, et al. Childhood obsessive-compulsive disorder: a prospective follow-up study. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 1990;31:363–380. - PubMed
    1. Leonard HL, Lenane M, Swedo SE. Obsessive-compulsive disorder. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 1993;2:655–665. - PubMed
    1. Piacentini J, Bergman RL, Keller M, McCracken J. Functional impairment in children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol. 2003;13(Suppl 1):S61–S69. - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data