To examine treatment fidelity in a randomized controlled trial of indicated school-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) delivered in groups to youth with anxiety. We investigated whether adherence and competence (a) differed across brief and standard-length CBT, and (b) if adherence and competence predicted change in anxiety symptoms and…

Social anxiety is a common mental disorder with an average age of onset in early adolescence. Current theories focus largely on risk factors that are present from early in life, but reasons for onset of the disorder as youth move into adolescence are rarely discussed. We recently proposed a model of the onset of certain mental disorders during the…

Background: Informant discrepancies between mother and child have challenged the assessment, classification, and treatment of childhood anxiety. Despite numerous studies on this matter, the implications and consequences for research and clinical practice remain unclear. Objective: The present study aimed to obtain meaningful clinical information…

The purpose of this paper is to determine how youth with anxiety recruited for a school-based randomized controlled trial (RCT) compare demographically and clinically to clinically referred youth with anxiety who participated in an RCT conducted in community mental health clinics. Youth ("N" = 99) with anxiety aged 12-15 years were: (a)…

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the influence of comorbid disorders on the degree of change and the endpoint of cognitive-behavioral treatment in anxious young people. Method: Data on 750 children 6 to 18 years old were compiled from different samples within one clinic. All children had a primary anxiety disorder and…

Temperamental inhibition has been identified as a key risk factor for childhood anxiety and internalizing problems. An efficacious early prevention programme for shy/inhibited children has been developed; however, accurate, efficient and acceptable screening is needed to support wider implementation. We explore community screening options in the…

Family variables are thought to play a key role in a wide variety of psychopathology according to many theories. Yet, specific models of the development of anxiety disorders place little emphasis on general family factors despite clear evidence that anxiety runs in families. The current review examines evidence for the involvement of a number of…

Objective: Computerized cognitive behavioral interventions for anxiety disorders in adults have been shown to be efficacious, but limited data are available on the use of computerized interventions with young persons. Adolescents in particular are difficult to engage in treatment and may be especially suited to computerized technologies. This…

The Personal Experiences Checklist (PECK) was developed to provide a multidimensional assessment of a young person's personal experience of being bullied that covered the full range of bullying behaviors, including covert relational forms of bullying and cyber bullying. A sample of 647 school children were used to develop the scale, and a 2nd…

While a plethora of cognitive behavioral empirically supported treatments (ESTs) are available for treating child and adolescent anxiety and depressive disorders, research has shown that these are not as effective when implemented in routine practice settings. Research is now indicating that is partly due to ineffective EST training methods,…

Background: There are few evaluations of very early intervention for the prevention of internalising disorders and those that exist generally evaluate outcomes to a maximum of 12 months. The current study evaluated the very long term effects (11 years) of a brief internalising prevention program presented to parents of preschool aged children.…

The efficacy of early intervention for preschool-aged children at risk of anxiety disorders is investigated. Brief early intervention delivered through parents can reduce anxiety and associated risk and may alter the developmental trajectory of anxiety in some young children.

In the current study, the Five Minute Speech Sample was used to assess the association between parent attitudes and children's behavioral inhibition in mothers of 120 behaviorally inhibited (BI) and 37 behaviorally uninhibited preschool-aged children. Mothers of BI children demonstrated significantly higher levels of emotional over-involvement…

Parental overprotection and modeling of fearful behaviors have been proposed to play a central role in the development of anxiety. Yet there have been few longitudinal examinations of these relationships and virtually none focusing on the adolescent period. The current study measured adolescent perceptions of maternal anxious parenting (a…

Background: Little is known about risk factors for anxiety in young children. The current study investigated the value of a set of theoretically derived risk factors to predict symptoms of anxiety in a sample of preschool-aged children. Methods: Mothers (n = 632) and fathers (n = 249) completed questionnaires twice, 12 months apart. Measures were…