Group treatment of children with anxiety disorders: Outcome and predictors of treatment response

Abstract

There have been surprisingly few outcome studies for the treatment of broad-based anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. Two recent studies have demonstrated excellent results using 12 to 16 sessions of individual treatment. In the current study, similar results were achieved with a nine-session program conducted in groups of around five families. Treated children improved significantly more on several measures of anxiety than did waiting-list controls. The improvements maintained and, in several cases increased, at 1-year follow-up. Examination of several potential predictors of treatment response and maintenance indicated few influential factors.