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The Case for Involving the Family in the Treatment of Childhood Anxiety

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2014

Vanessa E. Cobham
Vanessa E. Cobham*
Affiliation:
University of Queensland
*
School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD 4072, Australia. E-mail: vanessa@psy.uq.edu.au
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Extract

Anxiety disorders are among the most common forms of psychopathology reported by children and adolescents. Anxiety disorders in children have debilitating consequences, both for the child and his/her family. In addition, research indicates that, in many cases, these disorders follow a chronic and persistent course. The efficacy of child-focused cognitive-behavioural interventions in the treatment of childhood anxiety disorders has been well demonstrated by recent, well-controlled research. This treatment outcome literature is briefly reviewed. Most recently, however, interventions used in the treatment of childhood anxiety disorders have taken the form of combined interventions aimed both at the anxious child and his or her family. This paper reviews two related bodies of research in presenting a case for the involvement of families in the treatment of childhood anxiety. First, the etiological evidence implicating the families of anxious children in the development and/or maintenance of childhood anxiety is presented. Second, the treatment outcome studies that have empirically evaluated this type of combined intervention are reviewed.

Type
Articles
Information
Behaviour Change , Volume 15 , Issue 4 , December 1998 , pp. 203 - 212
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 1998

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