Esther Pearl
Parent Acceptability and Preference of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Approaches to Treating Anxiety in Young Children (Ages 2-7)
Chair: Hilary Vidair, Ph.D.
Abstract
The efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for treating anxiety in children ages 7 and younger has been demonstrated in several randomized controlled trials (e.g., Kennedy, Rapee, & Edwards, 2009; Waters, Ford, Wharton, & Cobham, 2009; Hirshfeld-Becker, et al., 2010). The treatments used differ procedurally from one another, primarily pertaining to whether or not the parent attends alone or with the child. Evidence-based treatments are only effective inasmuch as individuals are attending and participating in the treatments. The current study examined parent acceptability ratings and preference for two treatment approaches among 106 parents of children ages 2-7: parent-only individual sessions and parent-child joint sessions with live coaching. Predictors of parents’ acceptability ratings and preferences as well as their likes and dislikes of features of effective child anxiety treatments and barriers to attending treatment were assessed. Results indicated that parents found both treatments moderately acceptable, but were not significantly more likely to prefer either one of the treatments. In addition, parent anxiety predicted higher acceptability for parent-only sessions while higher parent general distress predicted lower acceptability for parent-only sessions. Parents’ most liked treatment feature was “parent learns to manage his or her anxiety” and the highest endorsed barrier was “financial concerns.” Knowing how parents’ own symptoms impact treatment acceptability and the preferences and barriers they would face attending treatment can serve as helpful guidelines to clinicians providing child anxiety treatment.