The U.S. National Institute of Health (NIH) recently conducted a study to find the most effective treatment for childhood anxiety – cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), medication or both.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is a form of psychotherapy that concentrates on altering patients’ methods of thinking so that they can change their negative behaviors and have more control over their lives.
While both CBT and medication, such as Zoloft, were far more effective than placebos, the combination of the two produced the best results among children, as over 80 percent of kids who received the combination treatment showed significant signs of improvement after three months.
Traditional Treatments for Anxiety Disorders
Cognitive behavioral therapy and the antidepressant medication sertraline (known by the brand name Zoloft) are typical treatments for a range of anxiety disorders. While individuals will respond differently to either treatment, up until this study, there was no clinical evidence of which was the best, most effective treatment option.
Details of the Study
This study, which was published in the October 2008 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, spanned a three-month period and focused on nearly 500 children between 7 and 17 years old. All children included in this study suffered from one or more anxiety disorders, including:
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• general anxiety
• separation anxiety
• social phobias.
Other forms of anxiety disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), were not researched in this study.
To accurately compare various treatments, researchers divided all juvenile participants into the following four groups:
• one that received only CBT
• one that received only Zoloft
• one that received both CBT and Zoloft
• one that received placebo pills
The Results
After three months, researchers found that:
• Over 80 percent of kids who received both CBT and Zoloft had made significant progress in combating their anxiety disorder(s).
• For those who received only CBT, only 60 percent showed signs of improvement.
• For those who received only Zoloft, only 55 percent showed signs of improvement.
• Only 24 percent of children taking the placebo showed signs of improvement.
• No significant side effects were reported from children’s use of Zoloft.
• Not one child attempted suicide (Since use of antidepressants has been recently found to elevate the risk of juvenile suicide, this was a major concern for researchers conducting this study).
Although researchers for this study are still conducting follow-up studies to confirm their results, they are urging families and doctors to pursue combination treatments for childhood anxiety disorders.
(Source: Medical News Today)
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