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
. 2025 Jun 25.
doi: 10.1007/s10578-025-01870-y. Online ahead of print.

The Role of Interpersonal Characteristics in Early and Developing Therapeutic Alliance Among Periadolescents with Anxiety

Samantha D Sorid  1 , Dana L McMakin  2 , Jennifer S Silk  3 , Cecile D Ladouceur  4 , Erika E Forbes  4 , Gregory J Siegle  4 , Ronald E Dahl  5 , Philip C Kendall  6 , Neal D Ryan  4 , Thomas M Olino  6
Affiliations

The Role of Interpersonal Characteristics in Early and Developing Therapeutic Alliance Among Periadolescents with Anxiety

Samantha D Sorid et al. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. .

Abstract

Little work has examined associations between interpersonal factors and changes in the therapeutic alliance. We examined the association between baseline youth family and peer interpersonal characteristics and therapeutic alliance throughout treatment in a sample of anxious youths who received cognitive behavioral therapy or client-centered therapy. Youths (N = 135; M = 10.94; SD = 1.46) were in a randomized clinical trial for anxiety disorders. Interpersonal characteristics were assessed via parent-report, youth self-report, and observational methods. Lower levels of parent-rated shyness, higher levels of positive interpersonal style, and being female were associated with higher early therapist-rated alliance. Being female was associated with more rapid increases in therapist-rated alliance. Friendship quality, younger age, and lower aggressive interpersonal style predicted higher baseline youth-rated alliance. Positive interpersonal style and stronger family functioning were associated with more rapid increases in youth-rated alliance. Therapists should be aware of client interpersonal characteristics when working with youth.

Keywords: Anxiety; Child/adolescent; Friendship; Interpersonal characteristics; Therapeutic alliance.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration. Competing interests: Philip C. Kendall receives royalties from the sales of materials related to the treatment of anxiety in youth.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Ardito RB, Rabellino D (2011) Therapeutic alliance and outcome of psychotherapy: Historical excursus, measurements, and prospects for research. Frontiers in Psychology 2:270. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00270 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
    1. Bordin ES (1979) The generalizability of the psychoanalytic concept of the working alliance. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice 16(3), 252–260. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0085885
    1. Cirasola, A., & Midgley, N. (2023). The alliance with young people: Where have we been, where are we going?. Psychotherapy (Chicago, Ill.), 60(1), 110–118. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000461
    1. Wampold BE, Flückiger C (2023) The alliance in mental health care: Conceptualization, evidence and clinical applications. World Psychiatry: Official Journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) 22(1):25–41. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.21035 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Arnow BA, Steidtmann D (2014) Harnessing the potential of the therapeutic alliance. World Psychiatry 13(3):238–240. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20147 - DOI - PubMed - PMC

LinkOut - more resources