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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2016 Apr;47(2):183-93.
doi: 10.1007/s10578-015-0555-x.

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

Susanne S Lee  1 , Andrea M Victor  2 , Matthew G James  3 , Lauren E Roach  4 , Gail A Bernstein  5
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

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

Susanne S Lee et al. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2016 Apr.

Abstract

This study examined the long-term outcomes of a nonclinical sample of anxious children (N = 61) who were randomized by school to 9 weeks of group cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for children, group CBT for children plus parent training, or no-treatment control. Parents and children completed measures of anxiety symptoms at baseline, posttreatment, and at 3-, 6-, 12-month, 2-, and 3-year posttreatment follow-ups. Piecewise longitudinal growth curve analyses were applied to the data. When the two CBT groups were combined and compared with control, the combined treatment group showed significantly greater reduction in children's anxiety severity based on the parent ratings in the first longitudinal phase. However, on the parent Clinician Severity Rating, gains were maintained to 3 years. Child report revealed no significant differences between groups on anxiety reduction. This study maintained a small no-treatment control group during the entire follow-up period. From parental perspective only, school-based group CBT appeared to be beneficial in decreasing severity of anxiety symptoms and maintaining gains over time.

Keywords: Anxiety; Cognitive-behavioral therapy; Follow-up study; School-based intervention.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None for All Authors

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Diagram of study participant flow. aOne-year, two-year and three-year follow-up data from the 12 controls who received treatment after 6-month follow-up were excluded from the analyses.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Piecewise growth model describing the outcome trajectory as a two-phase model with the first slope capturing changes from baseline to 3 months post-treatment and the second slope capturing changes from 3 months to 3 years post-intervention.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Estimated trajectories of SCARED, parent MASC, and child MASC mean scores for the treatment and control groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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