The Role of Social Skills in Predicting Treatment-Recovery in Children with a Social Anxiety Disorder

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - The current study investigated the role of social skills and its interaction with social anxiety as predictors of treatment outcome in children...     

The Role of Perspective Taking and Self-Control in a Preventive Intervention Targeting Childhood Disruptive Behavior

Prevention studies typically focus on outcome variables such as reductions in problem behavior, rather than targeted factors (e.g., cognitions), or the relation between change in targeted factors and outcomes. Therefore, the current study examined the effect of a targeted prevention program for childhood disruptive behavior on targeted factors (i.e., perspective taking and self-control) and associations between change in targeted factors and outcomes (i.e., aspects of disruptive behavior). The sample consisted of 173 children (Mage?=?10.2 years) who were randomly assigned to an intervention condition (n?=?70) or waitlist control condition (n?=?103). Assessment took place at pre-, post- and follow-up measurements. For ethical considerations, follow-up data was not available for children on the waitlist. Findings revealed a direct intervention effect on self-control. From pre-test to follow-up, children who received the intervention improved in perspective taking and self-control. Moreover, improvements in self-control were associated with and predicted reductions in teacher-reported symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder. No associations were found between changes in perspective taking and disruptive behavior. These findings suggest that self-control may be an important target factor in reducing childhood disruptive behavior in targeted prevention.

     

The Relation of Severity and Comorbidity to Treatment Outcome with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Childhood Anxiety Disorders

The present study investigated the impact of comorbidity over and above the impact of symptom severity on treatment outcome of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for children with anxiety disorders. Children (aged 8–12, n = 124) diagnosed with an anxiety disorder were treated with a short-term CBT protocol. Severity was assessed with a composite measure of parent-reported behavior problems. Two approaches to comorbidity were examined; “total comorbidity” which differentiated anxiety disordered children with (n = 69) or without (n = 55) a co-occurring disorder and “non-anxiety comorbidity’ which differentiated anxious children with (n = 22) or without a non-anxiety comorbid disorder (n = 102). Treatment outcome was assessed in terms of Recovery, represented by post-treatment diagnostic status, and Reliable Change, a score reflecting changes in pre- to post-treatment symptom levels. Severity contributed to the prediction of (no) Recovery and (more) Reliable Change in parent-reported internalizing and externalizing symptoms and self-reported depressive symptoms. Total and non-anxiety comorbidity added to the prediction of diagnostic recovery. Non-anxiety comorbidity added to the prediction of Reliable Change in parent reported measures by acting as a suppressor variable. Non-anxiety comorbidity operated as a strong predictor that explained all of the variance associated with severity for self-reported depressive symptoms. The results support the need for further research on mechanisms by which treatment gains in children with higher symptom severity and non-anxiety comorbidity can be achieved.     

Examining the Relation Between the Therapeutic Alliance, Treatment Adherence, and Outcome of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Children With Anxiety Disorders

Little is known about the contribution of technical and relational factors to child outcomes in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for children with anxiety disorders. This study investigated the association between treatment adherence, the child-therapist alliance, and child clinical outcomes in manual-guided individual- and group-based CBT for youths diagnosed with anxiety disorders. Trained observers rated tapes of therapy sessions for treatment adherence and child-therapist alliance in a sample of 52 children (aged 8 to 12) with anxiety disorders. Self-reported child anxiety was assessed at pre-, mid-, and posttreatment; parent-reported child internalizing symptoms was assessed at pre- and posttreatment. The results showed high levels of treatment adherence and child-therapist alliance in both CBT programs. Neither treatment adherence nor child-therapist alliance predicted traditional measurements of child outcomes in the present study, but a relation between alliance and outcome was found using a more precise estimation of the true pre-post differences. Implications of these findings for expanding our understanding of how treatment processes relate to child outcome in CBT for children with anxiety disorders are discussed.     

Youth Sensitivity in a Pandemic: The Relationship Between Sensory Processing Sensitivity,Internalizing Problems,COVID-19 and Parenting

Journal of Child and Family Studies - The personality trait sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is an established risk factor for the development of internalizing problems. Highly sensitive...