None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
A significant amount of research demonstrates that CBT is effective in reducing anxiety in youngsters aged 7 to 17 years using both face-to-face and online formats. Surprisingly, however, little research has investigated the efficacy of early intervention for anxiety disorders in the preschool years. Over the last several years, our research team has been systematically developing an internet-based CBT program for the treatment of childhood anxiety disorders. This pilot study intends to investigate the potential efficacy of an online CBT intervention delivered to the parents of anxious 3-5 year old children.
Interventions
The intervention includes Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) anxiety management strategies delivered to parents, and includes: psychoeducation, relaxation training, recognition of the physiological symptoms of anxiety, cognitive strategies of coping self-talk and cognitive restructuring, graded exposure, problem solving, and self-reinforcement. The sessions also teach parenting strategies to empower parents to help their children implement anxiety management skills.
The intervention consists of
The intervention includes Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) anxiety management strategies delivered to parents, and includes: psychoeducation, relaxation training, recognition of the physiological symptoms of anxiety, cognitive strategies of coping self-talk and cognitive restructuring, graded exposure, problem solving, and self-reinforcement. The sessions also teach parenting strategies to empower parents to help their children implement anxiety management skills. The intervention consists of the parent program of BRAVE-ONLINE and will include six, one-hour online sessions for parents, completed over a 10-week period. Booster sessions are completed at one- and three-months following treatment. The parent program of BRAVE-ONLINE was originally developed for children aged from eight years, and their parents. For the purposes of this pilot study, handouts were provided to parents in order to make the examples and situations presented in the program, age appropriate for preschool children. Sessions are designed to be engaging and interactive. Eye-catching graphics, sounds, games and quizzes are used to maintain interest. Information is presented through interactive exercises and followed by quizzes that check for correct understanding and provide personalized corrective or positive feedback through pop-up messages. The content of the intervention is suitable for the parents of school aged children and the supplementary handouts provide age-appropriate scenarios, examples, and activities for preschool aged children. Examples of scenarios presented include starting preschool or kindergarten, or meeting new children at playgroup. The program is (minimally) therapist-assisted, rather than self-help. Each family is assigned an online therapist (BRAVE Trainer) who monitors their progress through the program and provides brief email feedback following each session. At no stage do any participants have face-to-face contact with their therapist and all other contact (i.e., email or phone) is minimal. Clinician contact is restricted to brief, weekly emails. Most other contact with the ‘online therapist’ is computer generated. Client responses to all session and homework activities are stored in an administrator section of the program and can be viewed by the therapist to guide the content of the weekly email. In addition, automated computer-generated emails are sent on behalf of the online therapist to congratulate participants for completion of sessions and personalized emails are sent to provide feedback about responses to quiz tasks. Personalized automated reminder emails are sent to advise when the next session is available for completion, or to provide prompts if not completed by the due date. The wait list control condition will complete the pre-treatment assessment and will then be reassessed after 10-weeks. After this point they will be offered treatment by the research team.
Sponsors
Griffith University
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
0 to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Participants (of any age) will be included in the study if they have pre-school aged children (3-5 years at the time of intake) who meet DSM-IV criteria for a primary diagnosis of an anxiety disorder with a clinical severity rating (CSR) of at least 4 (on a 0-8 scale). Comorbidity with externalising disorders will be permissible as long as anxiety is considered primary. Families must have access to a suitable computer and the internet, and be willing to participate in either condition.
Exclusion criteria
Children with a pervasive developmental disorder will be excluded. For ethical reasons pertaining to the danger of potential self-harm, children with clinical levels of depression (Clinician Severity Rating of 4 or higher on a 0-8 scale on the ADIS-P) will not be included in the program and will be referred elsewhere for assistance. There are no exclusion criteria for their parents.
Outcome results
None listed