LONG TERM FOLLOW UP OF TREATED ANXIETY DISORDERED YOUTH

Temple University, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (Adapted from Applicant's Abstract): Adults with anxiety disorders often report onset during childhood. Treating youth with anxiety disorders may reduce the likelihood of future anxiety disorders and their sequelae. This study will evaluate (a) the long-term maintenance of treatment gains for treated anxiety-disordered youth and (b) changes in the sequelae of anxiety disorders. Ninety-four (94) youth who had been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and who had completed treatment in a randomized clinical trial (reported in Kendall et al., 1997) will participate. Participants will have completed treatment 5 to 7 years prior (average 6-year follow-up) and will return for a diagnostic evaluation (structured interview of the child and of the parent about the child) and to complete multiple self-report measures. Diagnostic interviews and self-report measures will be administered to assess current anxiety levels, depressive symptoms, substance use, and other comorbid disorders. An assessment of the participants recall of treatment content and their life events since therapy will be gathered. MANOVA analyses, of the dependent variables, will be used to compare the published pre-treatment and post-treatment data to the long-term follow-up data gathered with this application. Pre-treatment characteristics of the participants, as well as participant recall of treatment content and life events since treatment, will be examined as potential predictors of diagnostic status and functioning at long-term follow-up. Partial correlation analyses and multiple regression analyses will be used. The present study will also examine, using structured diagnostic procedures, whether successfully treated anxiety-disordered youth, as compared to those whose prior treatment was not successful, evidence differences in the sequelae of anxiety disorders such as depressive symptoms and substance abuse. The present study will provide the longest follow-up data to date on treated, anxiety-disordered youth, and will provide the first examination of the disorder.