Effectiveness of a school-based early intervention CBT group programme for children with anxiety aged 5–7 years

Abstract

Early manifestations of anxiety in childhood confer significant distress and life interference. This study reports on the first controlled trial of the Get Lost Mr Scary programme, a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy group intervention for children with anxiety aged 5–7 years. Participants were 134 children (65 males and 69 females) drawn from 23 public schools located in Western Sydney, Australia. A non-randomised control group design was used to assign schools to an intervention group or wait-time control group. Post-intervention results obtained from parent and teacher measures indicated that children who received the intervention showed significant reductions in their anxiety and behaviour symptoms compared to children in the wait-time group who showed no significant change. After receiving the intervention, the wait-time group showed a similar pattern of improvement. At 12-month follow-up, the intervention gains for anxiety were maintained. Clinical implications for the school setting and future directions for research are discussed.