Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The STEP trials

A round-up of the STEP phase 3 clinical trials evaluating semaglutide for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health
Published in: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 1/2018

Open Access 01-12-2018 | Research article

Effectiveness of a cognitive behavioural therapy-based anxiety prevention programme at an elementary school in Japan: a quasi-experimental study

Authors: Yuko Urao, Michiko Yoshida, Takako Koshiba, Yasunori Sato, Shin-ichi Ishikawa, Eiji Shimizu

Published in: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health | Issue 1/2018

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

The efficacy of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for anxiety related problems in children is empirically supported. In addition, universal anxiety prevention programmes based on CBT have been demonstrated in recent years. The purpose of this study was to verify the effectiveness of a CBT based original programme ‘Journey of the Brave,’ aiming to prevent anxiety disorders and anxiety-related problems for Japanese children aged 10–12 years old.

Methods

Intervention groups from two classes of 5th grade elementary students (n = 41) received ten 45-min programme sessions. The control group was drawn from one class of 5th grade children (n = 31) from a nearby school. All participants completed the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS) at pre, post, and 3 months follow-up. Mixed-effects model for repeated measures analysis was conducted.

Results

The mean anxiety score on the SCAS for the intervention group was significantly reduced at both post intervention and 3 months follow-up compared with the control group. The group differences on the SCAS from baseline to post-test were − 5.321 (95% CI − 10.12 to − 0.523, p = 0.030), and at the 3-month follow-up were − 7.104 (95% CI − 11.90 to − 2.306, p = 0.004).

Conclusions

The effectiveness of the anxiety prevention programme ‘Journey of the Brave’ was verified though this study using a quasi-experimental design on a small sample.
Trial registration: UMIN000009021
Literature
1.
Albano AM, Chorpita BF, Barlow DH. Childhood anxiety disorders. In: Mash EJ, Barkley RA, editors. Childhood psychopathology. 2nd ed. New York: Guilford Press; 2003. p. 279–329.
2.
Costello EJ, Egger HL, Angold A. The developmental epidemiology of anxiety disorders: phenomenology, prevalence, and comorbidity. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2005;14:631–48.CrossRefPubMed
3.
Neil AL, Christensen H. Efficacy and effectiveness of school-based prevention and early intervention programs for anxiety. Clin Psychol Rev. 2009;29:208–15.CrossRefPubMed
4.
Teubert D, Pinquart M. A meta-analytic review on the prevention of symptoms of anxiety in children and adolescents. J Anxiety Disord. 2011;25:1046–59.CrossRef
5.
Strauss CC, Frame CL, Forehand R. Psychosocial impairment associated with anxiety in children. J Clin Child Psychol. 1987;16:235–9.CrossRef
6.
McLoone J, Hudson JL, Rapee RM. Treating anxiety disorders in a school setting. Educ Treat Children. 2006;29:219–42.
7.
8.
Cole DA, Peeke LG, Martin JM, Truglio R, Seroczynski AD. A longitudinal look at the relation between depression and anxiety in children and adolescents. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1998;66:451–60.CrossRefPubMed
9.
Craske MG, Zucker BG. Prevention of anxiety disorders: a model for intervention. Appl Prev Psychol. 2002;10:155–75.CrossRef
10.
11.
Mrazek PJ, Haggerty RJ. Reducing risks for mental disorders: frontiers for preventive research. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 1994.
12.
Horowitz JL, Garber J. The prevention of depressive symptoms in children and adolescents: a meta-analytic review. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2006;74:401–15.CrossRefPubMed
13.
14.
Fisak BJ Jr, Richard D, Mann A. The prevention of child and adolescent anxiety: a meta-analytic review. Prev Sci. 2011;12:255–68.CrossRefPubMed
15.
Stockings EA, Degenhardt L, Dobbins T, Lee YY, Erskine HE, Whiteford HA, Patton G. Preventing depression and anxiety in young people: a review of the joint efficacy of universal, selective and indicated prevention. Psychol Med. 2016;46:11–26.CrossRefPubMed
16.
Kendall PC. Treating anxiety disorders in children: results of a randomized clinical trial. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1994;62:100–10.CrossRefPubMed
17.
Kendall PC, Flannery-Schroeder E, Panichelli-Mindel SM, Southam-Gerow M, Henin A, Warman M. Therapy for youths with anxiety disorders: a second randomized clinical trial. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1997;65:366–80.CrossRefPubMed
18.
Dadds MR, Spence SH, Holland DE, Barrett PM, Laurens KR. Prevention and early intervention for anxiety disorders: a controlled trial. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1997;65:627–35.CrossRefPubMed
19.
Silverman WK, Kurtines WM, Ginsburg GS, Weems CF, Lumpkin PW, Carmichael DH. Treating anxiety disorders in children with group cognitive-behavioural therapy: a randomized clinical trial. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1999;67:995–1003.CrossRefPubMed
20.
21.
Walkup JT, Albano AM, Piacentini J, Birmaher B, Compton SN, Sherrill JT, Ginsburg GS, Rynn MA, McCracken J, Waslick B, Iyengar S, March JS, Kendall PC. Cognitive behavioural therapy, sertraline, or a combination in childhood anxiety. New Engl J Med. 2008;359:2753–66.CrossRefPubMed
22.
Kendall PC, Hedtke KA. Cognitive behavioural therapy for anxious children: therapist manual. 3rd ed. Ardmore: Workbook Publishing; 2006.
23.
Barrett P, Turner C. Prevention of anxiety symptoms in primary school children: preliminary results from a universal school-based trial. Br J Clin Psychol. 2001;40:399–410.CrossRefPubMed
24.
Lowry-Webster HM, Barrett PM, Dadds MR. A universal prevention trial of anxiety and depressive symptomatology in childhood: preliminary data from an Australian study. Behav Change. 2001;18:36–50.CrossRef
25.
Lowry-Webster HM, Barrett PM, Lock S. A universal prevention trial of anxiety symptomology during childhood: results at 1-year follow-up. Behav Change. 2003;20:25–43.CrossRef
26.
Barrett PM, Farrell LJ, Ollendick TH, Dadds M. Long-term outcomes of an Australian universal prevention trial of anxiety and depression symptoms in children and youth: an evaluation of the FRIENDS program. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2006;35:403–11.CrossRefPubMed
27.
Skryabina E, Taylor G, Sallard P. Effect of a universal anxiety prevention programme (FRIENDS) on children’s academic performance: results from a randomised controlled trial. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2016;57:1297–307.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
28.
Stallard P, Skryabina E, Taylor G, Phillips R, Daniels H, Anderson R, Simpson N. Classroom-based cognitive behaviour therapy (FRIENDS): a cluster randomized controlled trial to Prevent Anxiety in Children through Education in Schools (PACES). Lancet Psychiatry. 2014;1:185–92.CrossRefPubMed
29.
Matsumoto Y, Shimizu E. The FRIENDS cognitive behavioral Program in Japanese schools: an examination of the treatment effect. Sch Psychol Int. 2016;37:397–409.CrossRef
30.
Collins S, Woolfson LM, Durkin K. Effects on coping skills and anxiety of a universal school-based mental health intervention delivered in Scottish primary schools. Sch Psychol Int. 2014;35:85–100.CrossRef
31.
Calear AL, Christensen H, Brewer J, Mackinnon A, Griffiths KM. A pilot randomized controlled trial of the e-couch anxiety and worry program in schools. Internet Interv. 2016;6:1–5.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
32.
33.
Ishikawa S, Togasaki Y, Sato S, Sato Y. Prevention programs for depression in children and adolescents: a review. Jpn J Educ Psychol. 2006;54:572–84.CrossRef
34.
35.
36.
Ishikawa S, Sato H, Sasagawa S. Anxiety disorder symptoms in Japanese children and adolescents. J Anxiety Disord. 2009;23:104–11.CrossRefPubMed
37.
Muris P, Schmidt H, Merckelbach H. Correlations among two self-report questionnaires for measuring DSM-defined anxiety disorder symptoms in children: the screen for child anxiety related emotional disorders and the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale. Pers Individ Differ. 2000;28:333–46.CrossRef
38.
Goodman R, Meltzer H, Bailey V. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: a pilot study on the validity of the self-report version. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1998;7:125–30.CrossRefPubMed
39.
Werner-Seidler A, Perry Y, Calear AL, Newby JM, Christensen H. School-based depression and anxiety prevention programs for young people: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin Psychol Rev. 2017;51:30–47.CrossRefPubMed
40.
Corrieri S, Heider D, Conrad I, Blume A, Konig H, Riedel-Hellier SG. School-based prevention programs for depression and anxiety in adolescence: a systematic review. Health Promot Int. 2013;29:427–41.CrossRefPubMed
Metadata
Title
Effectiveness of a cognitive behavioural therapy-based anxiety prevention programme at an elementary school in Japan: a quasi-experimental study
Authors
Yuko Urao
Michiko Yoshida
Takako Koshiba
Yasunori Sato
Shin-ichi Ishikawa
Eiji Shimizu
Publication date
01-12-2018
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health / Issue 1/2018
Electronic ISSN: 1753-2000
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-018-0240-5

Other articles of this Issue 1/2018

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 1/2018 Go to the issue

Research article

Internet addiction detection rate among college students in the People’s Republic of China: a meta-analysis

Research Article

Mobilizing agencies for incidence surveys on child maltreatment: successful participation in Switzerland and lessons learned

Commentary

Psychosocial problems in traumatized refugee families: overview of risks and some recommendations for support services

Research Article

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Mental health status, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors of migrant children in eastern coastal China in comparison to urban children: a cross-sectional survey

Research article

Psychopathology and impairment of quality of life in offspring of psychiatric inpatients in southern Brazil: a preliminary study

Editorial

Current research on child maltreatment epidemiology