Abstract
This study examined the role of theoretically meaningful mediators of therapeutic change-interpretation bias, perceived control, and coping strategies-in a cognitive-behavioral intervention for anxious youth. This is one of the few studies that examined the change in potential mediator and outcome variables by means of a longitudinal design that included four assessment points: pretreatment, in-treatment, post-treatment, and at 4-months follow-up. Forty-seven 8- to 12-year-old children with a principal DSM-IV diagnosis of anxiety disorder participated in the study. On each assessment point, questionnaires assessing the mediator variables and a standardized anxiety scale were administered to the children. The results showed that perceived control and interpretation bias (but not coping strategies) accounted for a significant proportion in the variability of various types of anxiety symptoms, providing a preliminary support for the notion that these cognitive dimensions' act as mechanisms of therapeutic change in cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxious children.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 73-85 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Child Psychiatry & Human Development |
Volume | 49 |
Issue number | 1 |
Early online date | 12 May 2017 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Feb 2018 |
Keywords
- Cognitive-behavioral treatment
- Anxiety disorders
- Children
- Mediators of change
- CHILDHOOD ANXIETY DISORDERS
- NONANXIOUS CHILDREN
- INTERVIEW SCHEDULE
- PARENT VERSIONS
- DSM-IV
- ADOLESCENTS
- SYMPTOMS
- VULNERABILITY
- DEPRESSION
- MEDIATORS
- Humans
- Thinking
- Male
- Anxiety Disorders/diagnosis
- Cognition
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Female
- Surveys and Questionnaires
- Child
- Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
- Social Control, Formal
- Anxiety/diagnosis
- Longitudinal Studies
- Adaptation, Psychological