Guided parent-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy for childhood anxiety: Predictors of treatment response

•We examined predictors of response to low intensity treatment of childhood anxiety disorders.•Response was measured at two time points; post treatment and six month follow up.•Recovery was associated with child age, primary diagnosis of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and treatment intensity.•The findings inform decision making about when to consider more intensive treatment.

BackgroundGuided Parent-delivered Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (GPD-CBT) is a brief, effective treatment for childhood anxiety disorders, however not all children respond favourably.AimsTo examine predictors of response to GPD-CBT.MethodsParents of 125 children (7-12 years) with an anxiety disorder received GPD-CBT over 2.6 or 5.3 h. Recovery was measured post treatment and six months later.ResultsYounger children and those with primary Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) improved more post treatment, but older children and those without primary GAD had better outcomes at six month follow up. Fewer children allocated to 2.6 h had recovered post treatment compared to those allocated to the 5.2 h intervention, but did not differ significantly six months later.ConclusionsThe identification of predictors of short and longer-term treatment outcomes can guide treatment decisions following this low-intensity approach.