TY - JOUR
T1 - School-based cognitive behavioral interventions for anxious youth
T2 - study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
AU - Haugland, Bente Storm Mowatt
AU - Raknes, Solfrid
AU - Haaland, Aashild Tellefsen
AU - Wergeland, Gro Janne
AU - Bjaastad, Jon Fauskanger
AU - Baste, Valborg
AU - Himle, Joe
AU - Rapee, Ron
AU - Hoffart, Asle
N1 - Copyright the Author(s) 2017. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.
PY - 2017/3/4
Y1 - 2017/3/4
N2 - Background: Anxiety disorders are prevalent among adolescents and may have long-lasting negative consequences for the individual, the family and society. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment. However, many anxious youth do not seek treatment. Low-intensity CBT in schools may improve access to evidence-based services. We aim to investigate the efficacy of two CBT youth anxiety programs with different intensities (i.e., number and length of sessions), both group-based and administered as early interventions in a school setting. The objectives of the study are to examine the effects of school-based interventions for youth anxiety and to determine whether a less intensive intervention is non-inferior to a more intensive intervention.
Methods/design: The present study is a randomized controlled trial comparing two CBT interventions to a waitlist control group. A total of 18 schools participate and we aim to recruit 323 adolescents (12-16 years). Youth who score above a cutoff on an anxiety symptom scale will be included in the study. School nurses recruit participants and deliver the interventions, with mental health workers as co-therapists and/or supervisors. Primary outcomes are level of anxiety symptoms and anxiety-related functional impairments. Secondary outcomes are level of depressive symptoms, quality of life and general psychosocial functioning. Non-inferiority between the two active interventions will be declared if a difference of 1.4 or less is found on the anxiety symptom measure post-intervention and a difference of 0.8 on the interference scale. Effects will be analyzed by mixed effect models, applying an intention to treat procedure.
Discussion: The present study extends previous research by comparing two programs with different intensity. A brief intervention, if effective, could more easily be subject to large-scale implementation in school health services.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02279251. Registered on 15 October 2014. Retrospectively registered.
AB - Background: Anxiety disorders are prevalent among adolescents and may have long-lasting negative consequences for the individual, the family and society. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment. However, many anxious youth do not seek treatment. Low-intensity CBT in schools may improve access to evidence-based services. We aim to investigate the efficacy of two CBT youth anxiety programs with different intensities (i.e., number and length of sessions), both group-based and administered as early interventions in a school setting. The objectives of the study are to examine the effects of school-based interventions for youth anxiety and to determine whether a less intensive intervention is non-inferior to a more intensive intervention.
Methods/design: The present study is a randomized controlled trial comparing two CBT interventions to a waitlist control group. A total of 18 schools participate and we aim to recruit 323 adolescents (12-16 years). Youth who score above a cutoff on an anxiety symptom scale will be included in the study. School nurses recruit participants and deliver the interventions, with mental health workers as co-therapists and/or supervisors. Primary outcomes are level of anxiety symptoms and anxiety-related functional impairments. Secondary outcomes are level of depressive symptoms, quality of life and general psychosocial functioning. Non-inferiority between the two active interventions will be declared if a difference of 1.4 or less is found on the anxiety symptom measure post-intervention and a difference of 0.8 on the interference scale. Effects will be analyzed by mixed effect models, applying an intention to treat procedure.
Discussion: The present study extends previous research by comparing two programs with different intensity. A brief intervention, if effective, could more easily be subject to large-scale implementation in school health services.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02279251. Registered on 15 October 2014. Retrospectively registered.
KW - anxiety
KW - adolescents
KW - school-based
KW - low-intensity CBT
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85014304813&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://ulrichsweb.serialssolutions.com/title/1509325295832/401363
U2 - 10.1186/s13063-017-1831-9
DO - 10.1186/s13063-017-1831-9
M3 - Article
C2 - 28259171
AN - SCOPUS:85014304813
SN - 1745-6215
VL - 18
SP - 1
EP - 11
JO - Trials
JF - Trials
IS - 1
M1 - 100
ER -