Moderators and predictors of outcomes in telephone delivered compared to face-to-face cognitive behaviour therapy for paediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder: preliminary evidence from a non-inferiority RCT.

This study provides a preliminary exploration of factors which differentially predict treatment response to telephone-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy (TCBT) compared to face-to-face CBT (CBT) in a randomised non-inferiority controlled trial of 72 children (aged 11-18 years) with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Potential moderator variables, their interaction with treatment group (CBT, TCBT) and baseline levels of OCD severity were entered into separate regression models where the primary outcome measure was the post-intervention Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale total score (CYBOCS). Separate regressions were also used to test associations between predictors and outcome controlling for pretreatment CYBOCS. Only pretreatment level of parent-rated child peer problems moderated the effects of the two interventions on CYBOCS severity at post-treatment. After controlling for baseline CYBOCS, only family accommodation rated by mothers predicted poorer outcomes in both groups. While CBT and TCBT may be equally effective for adolescents with OCD, the current results tentatively suggest that higher baseline level of peer problems strengthened the response to therapy for youth receiving TCBT and the predictor analyses reinforce the importance of directly addressing family accommodation during CBT for paediatric OCD regardless of delivery mode. Limitations of the current findings and directions for future work are discussed.