Monga Suneeta, Young Arlene, Owens Mary
Anxiety Disorders Program, Division of Child Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Depress Anxiety. 2009;26(3):243-50. doi: 10.1002/da.20551.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has demonstrated benefits for anxious school-aged children and adolescents; however, treatment programs have not been developed to teach CBT strategies to children under the age of eight. This pilot study examined a novel treatment program for children aged 5-7 years with anxiety disorders.
Thirty-two children (19 females) aged 5-7 years (mean age=6.51 years) with DSM-IV anxiety disorders and their families completed a 12-week, manualized CBT group program. Parent and child groups (5-8 children per group) were held separately but concurrently. Multiple measures of anxiety (Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders, Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-IV-Parent Version, and clinician Children's Global Assessment Scale ratings) were completed pre and post each treatment series. A subset of participants (n=11; 8 females; mean age=6.34 years) completed an initial assessment followed by a wait period of approximately 3.5 months (range 2.5-5 months) with a second assessment just before treatment start. No treatment was received during this wait time.
With treatment, 43.8% of children no longer met criteria for any Axis 1 anxiety disorders whereas 71.9% had at least one anxiety disorder resolve. A series of paired, two-tailed t-tests revealed significant reduction in anxiety symptoms on standardized measures. Children who waited for treatment showed no significant change in anxiety symptoms during nontreatment but demonstrated improvement after program attendance.
This pilot study suggests that CBT can be used effectively to treat anxious children as young as 5 years of age. Further research is warranted.
认知行为疗法（CBT）已被证明对焦虑的学龄儿童和青少年有益；然而，尚未开发出针对8岁以下儿童教授CBT策略的治疗方案。这项试点研究考察了一种针对5至7岁焦虑症儿童的新型治疗方案。
32名年龄在5至7岁（平均年龄 = 6.51岁）、患有DSM-IV焦虑症的儿童（19名女性）及其家庭完成了一个为期12周的、手册化的CBT小组项目。家长组和儿童组（每组5 - 8名儿童）分别但同时进行。在每个治疗系列前后，完成了多项焦虑测量（儿童焦虑相关情绪障碍筛查、DSM-IV家长版焦虑症访谈量表以及临床医生儿童总体评估量表评分）。一部分参与者（n = 11；8名女性；平均年龄 = 6.34岁）完成了初始评估，随后有大约3.5个月（范围2.5 - 5个月）的等待期，在治疗开始前进行第二次评估。在此等待期间未接受任何治疗。
经过治疗，43.8%的儿童不再符合任何轴I焦虑症的标准，而71.9%的儿童至少有一种焦虑症得到缓解。一系列配对双尾t检验显示，标准化测量中的焦虑症状有显著减少。等待治疗的儿童在未治疗期间焦虑症状没有显著变化，但在参加项目后有所改善。
这项试点研究表明，CBT可以有效地用于治疗年仅5岁的焦虑儿童。有必要进行进一步的研究。
