Effectiveness of group and individual treatment of childhood anxiety disorders in ordinary community clinics. A randomized controlled trial.

Anxiety disorders (ADs) in childhood are common, may cause great suffering, and may persist into adulthood. Few children with an AD receive psychiatric treatment for their illness compared to children with ADHD and behavorial disorders. Knowledge of effec tive treatments and predictors of positive treatment outcome is essential. This study will examine the effects of individual and group delivered treatment, implementing a cognitive behavioral treatment program, compared with a wait-list control group. A f ollow-up at 12 months is included to examine the maintenance of treatment effects. At follow-up, selected data will be compared with a non-randomized sample receiving treatment as usual. The study will be conducted in cooperation with ordinary community c linics with ordinary clinicians conducting the treatment. Predictors of treatment outcome, such as parental involvement in therapy, parental psychopathology, parental rearing behavior, and therapeutic alliance will be studied. A pilot study was conducted in 2006 at three community clinics to ensure the feasibility of the planned effectiveness study. The study is a randomized controlled trial of children aged 7-12 diagnosed with separation anxiety disorder, social phobia, or generalized anxiety disorder. E xpected N = 150, which based on experiences from the pilot study and the existing research literature is a sufficient sample size to answer the primary research question. There is a great need to evaluate the effects of psychotherapy for children with ADs . This study has the potential to add important knowledge regarding the effects of treatment of ADs and making effective treatment available to ordinary clinicians in the community.