NCJ Number
199330
Journal
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 42 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2003 Pages: 327-330
Date Published
March 2003
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This study explored the possible application to adolescents of a cognitive-behavioral treatment for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
Abstract
Recent epidemiological studies show that GAD is one of the most prevalent anxiety disorders (Kessler et al., 1994). Studies that have examined the age at onset of GAD have found that adult patients often report having been worriers all their lives. In most patients, GAD develops gradually during adolescence and reaches clinical significance during young adulthood. Based on a model of excessive worry conceptualized by Dugas and colleagues (1998), Laugesen and Dugas (2000) studied the presence of four worry-related cognitive processes in an adolescent sample. They found that intolerance of uncertainty, positive beliefs about worry, negative problem orientation, and cognitive avoidance were all significantly correlated with the tendency to worry among high school adolescents. For the current study, seven adolescents (four girls and three boys) with a primary diagnosis of GAD were treated with cognitive-behavioral therapy. This consisted of 1-hour therapy sessions weekly. The average treatment length for the 6 adolescents who completed the therapy was 13.2 sessions. The worry interventions targeted the four cognitive components of the Dugas et al. model of GAD. The treatment involved awareness training, worry interventions, and relapse prevention. Based on testing with the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule - IV, self-report questionnaires, and daily self-monitoring of worry, three participants showed a dramatic decrease in GAD symptoms that was maintained at 6-month and 12-month follow-up assessments. Two participants showed a moderate decrease in GAD symptoms, and the improvement was partly maintained at both follow-up assessments. One participant remained unchanged, and another participant dropped out of treatment after the fifth treatment session. Factors that may explain differences in response to treatment are discussed. 2 tables and 21 references