Examining outcome variability: correlates of treatment response in a child and adolescent anxiety clinic

Examined correlates of treatment response in a clinic providing cognitive-behavioral therapy for children with anxiety disorders. Youth (ages 7 to 15) with a primary Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev., or 4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1987, 1994) anxiety-disorder diagnosis (overanxious disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, social phobia, or avoidant disorder) participated. After completing a full course of treatment and posttreatment (n = 135) and 1-year follow-up (n = 107) assessments, participants were classified into 1 of 2 groups--poor treatment response and good treatment response--using parent diagnostic reports. Discriminant function analyses indicated that higher levels of maternal- and teacher-reported child-internalizing psychopathology at pretreatment, higher levels of maternal self-reported depressive symptoms, and older-child age were all associated with less favorable treatment response. Other factors, such as child ethnicity, child sex, family income, family composition (i.e., dual parent vs. single parent), child-reported symptomatology, and maternal-reported level of child-externalizing behavior problems did not predict treatment response. Both practical and conceptual implications of the findings are discussed.