title: Anxiety in children with mood disorders: a treatment help or hindrance?
abstract: This study examined the role of comorbid anxiety in treatment outcome for children with mood disorders (N = 165; age 8-11) participating in Multi-Family Psychoeducational Psychotherapy (MF-PEP). Assessments occurred at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months for two randomly assigned groups: immediate treatment and 1-year wait-list. Most children (69%) had comorbid anxiety disorders. Baseline comorbid anxiety, as reported on the Children's Interview for Psychiatric Syndromes (ChIPS), was associated with higher Children's Depression Rating Scale- Revised (CDRS-R) scores but not Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) scores. Higher levels of anxiety symptoms were associated with lower Children's Global Assessment Scale (C-GAS) scores. Participation in MF-PEP did not significantly reduce anxiety symptoms (p = 0.62). However, presence of comorbid anxiety did not impede reduction in depressive (CDRS-R, p = 0.74) or manic (YMRS scores, p = 0.94) symptoms following MF-PEP. More baseline anxiety symptoms were associated with greater improvement in C-GAS scores post-treatment (p = 0.02). Implications are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Temple University, Weiss Hall, 1701 N. 13th St., Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA. cummings@temple.edu
authors.forename: Colleen M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Cummings
authors.forename: Mary A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Fristad
mesh_terms: D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*