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Controlled Clinical Trial
. 2020 Apr;14(2):211-219.
doi: 10.1111/eip.12848. Epub 2019 Jul 2.

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for children and adolescents with anxiety disorders at-risk for bipolar disorder: A psychoeducation waitlist controlled pilot trial

Sian Cotton  1   2 , Kristen M Kraemer  3 , Richard W Sears  4 , Jeffrey R Strawn  2   4 , Rachel S Wasson  1   4 , Nina McCune  4 , Jeffrey Welge  4 , Thomas J Blom  4 , Michelle Durling  4 , Melissa P Delbello  2   4
Affiliations
Controlled Clinical Trial

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for children and adolescents with anxiety disorders at-risk for bipolar disorder: A psychoeducation waitlist controlled pilot trial

Sian Cotton et al. Early Interv Psychiatry. 2020 Apr.

Abstract

Aim: Previous studies suggest that Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Children (MBCT-C) is feasible and may improve anxiety and emotion regulation in youth with anxiety disorders at-risk for bipolar disorder. However, controlled studies are warranted to replicate and extend these findings.

Methods: In the current study, 24 youth with anxiety disorders who have at least one parent with bipolar disorder participated in a MBCT-C treatment period (n = 24; Mage = 13.6, 75% girls, 79% White) with a subset also participating in a prior psychoeducation waitlist control period (n = 19 Mage = 13.8, 68% girls, 84% White). Participants in both the waitlist and MBCT-C periods completed independently-rated symptom scales at each time point. Participants in the waitlist period received educational materials 12 weeks prior to the beginning of MBCT-C.

Results: There were significantly greater improvements in overall clinical severity in the MBCT-C period compared to the waitlist period, but not in clinician- and child-rated anxiety, emotion regulation or mindfulness. However, increases in mindfulness were associated with improvements in anxiety and emotion regulation in the MBCT-C period, but not the waitlist period.

Conclusions: Findings suggest that MBCT-C may be effective for improving overall clinical severity in youth with anxiety disorders who are at-risk for bipolar disorder. However, waitlist controlled designs may inflate effect sizes so interpret with caution. Larger studies utilizing prospective randomized controlled designs are warranted.

Keywords: MBCT-C; anxiety; bipolar disorder; mindfulness; youth.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: Dr. DelBello has received research support from Otsuka, Lundbeck, Sunovion, Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson, Supernus, Sunovion and Consulting/Advisory Board/Honoraria from Pfizer, Lundbeck, Sunovion, Supernus, Johnson and Johnson, Neuronetics, Akili. Dr. Strawn has received research support from the National Institutes of Health (NIMH/NIEHS) as well as Edgemont, Eli Lilly, Forest, Shire, Lundbeck, Neuronetics. He has received material support from Genesight/Assurex Health and receives royalties from the publication of two texts (Springer) and serves as an author for UpToDate and an Associate Editor for Current Psychiatry. Dr. Sears has written a number of books on and regularly presents workshops on mindfulness and MBCT. All other authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Participant Flow Diagram Note. Participants were discontinued after being lost to follow-up (n=2), withdrawing consent (n=4), and reporting an adverse event (n=1; hospitalization). Reasons for screen failure included concomitant medication (n = 2), exclusionary family history (n = 1), diagnosis of bipolar disorder NOS (n = 1), and lost to follow-up prior to enrollment (n = 3).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Mean PARS Scores in Waitlist and Treatment Periods
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Mean CAMM Scores in Waitlist and Treatment Periods
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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