anxiety Specific phobia
Conditions
Interventions
The OST will be a 3-hour session in which the child is gradually exposed to the
feared object or situation. After the OST, one group will receive an app that
helps the child to complete exposure exe
Sponsors
Universiteit Leiden
Eligibility
Age
2 Years to 64 Years
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: (a) Meet DSM-IV criteria for a specific phobia with a severity score of 4 or higher determined with the anxiety disorders interview schedule ( ADIS-IV-C/P) (b) At least one parent/caregiver is willing to be involved in the study and active consent is obtained from both legal guardians and of the child if 12 years or older (c) Fluent in German (Bochum site), Dutch (sites in the Netherlands) or English (all sites) (d) 7 - 14 years of age
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: (a) A comorbid problem that requires attention/treatment more immediate than the specific phobia (e.g. severe depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, psychosis, trauma) (b) Child hazard (e.g. suspected child maltreatment) (c) Problems with understanding the procedure (e.g. being intellectually unable or nonverbal) (d) Changes in anxiety medication during the treatment (e) Other treatment targeting anxiety complaints at the time of the study
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| The main study parameters will be the clinician severity rating of the specific phobia, an assessment of behavioral avoidance of the feared stimulus with the Behavioral Avoidance Task, the Sheehan Disiability questionnaire to assess interference with daily life and a form on which the specific fear(s) are listed with a rating of how afraid the child is of this object/situation and how often he/she avoids this. | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| In addition to the primary measures several secondary measures will be administered in order to describe the population and investigate possible underlying mechanisms and predictors of treatment: Child - Interpretation bias will be assessed wit an Ambiguous Scenarios Task (AST) - Sensation seeking will be assessed with the Sensation Seeking Scale for Children - Habituation is assessed with a 0-8 subjective units of distress scale (SUDS) about how scared the child is, is administered multiple times - Expectation violation/harm beliefs are assessed by asking the child several questions throughout treatment regarding his/her beliefs about what might happen and what did actually happen - Emotional problems will be assessed with the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (SMFQ) - ambivalent and avoidant reactions to attachment situations assessed with the Experiences in close relationships-Child Questionnaire - Imagery or flash forwards will be assessed with a short interview and a short questionnaire Child and Parent - Parent and child self-efficacy will be assessed with the General Self Efficacy Questionnaire (GSE) and an adapted version for children - Comorbidity will be assessed with a structured clinical diagnostic interview at intake - Comorbid anxiety will be assessed with the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS) - Motivation for treatment will be assessed using the Motivation Questionnaire - Credibility and expectancy of the treatment will be assessed with the Credibility and Expectancy Questionnaire (CEQ-C/P) - Treatment compliance/time practiced; parents and children are asked how often they have practiced - Treatment satisfaction will be assessed with three self and parent report items - usability of and satisfaction with the app assessed with a short questionnaire (only in app condition) - Parental coping with negative emotion assessed with an adapted version of the Child Development Questionnaire (CDQ) -Positive mental he | — |
Countries
Netherlands
Outcome results
None listed