title: Long-term outcomes and predictors of internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy for childhood anxiety disorders.
abstract: This study investigated the long-term outcomes of internet-delivered cognitive behavior therapy (ICBT) for children with anxiety disorders, and potential pre-treatment predictors of treatment outcome.
  
  
  
  The sample included eighty-four children (8-12 years old) with anxiety disorders, from both a treatment group and a waitlist control (after participants had crossed over to treatment) of a previous randomized controlled study. Participants were assessed at post-treatment and three- and twelve-months after treatment using a semi-structured interview and parent ratings. Pre-treatment data were used to investigate predictors of treatment outcome at three-month follow-up.
  
  
  
  Intention-to-treat analysis showed that treatment gains were maintained at twelve-month follow-up, including clinician rated severity of the principal anxiety disorder, parent rated anxiety symptoms and global functioning, with mainly large effect sizes (Cohen's d = 0.63-2.35). Completer analyses showed that suspected autism spectrum disorder was associated with less change in symptom severity. No other pre-treatment measures significantly predicted treatment outcome.
  
  
  
  This study suggests that internet-delivered CBT can have long-term beneficial effects for children with anxiety disorders. Predictors of treatment outcome need to be evaluated further.
  
  
  
  Clinicaltrials.gov; NCT01533402.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden; Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm County Council, Sweden. Electronic address: sarah.vigerland@ki.se.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vigerland
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden; Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm County Council, Sweden. Electronic address: eva.serlachius@ki.se.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Serlachius
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: ulrika.thulin@ki.se.
authors.forename: Ulrika
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Thulin
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Psychology, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Behavioral Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, 581 83 Linköping, Sweden. Electronic address: gerhard.andersson@liu.se.
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Andersson
authors.affiliation: Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: jan-olov.larsson@ki.se.
authors.forename: Jan-Olov
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Larsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Psychology, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: brjann.ljotsson@ki.se.
authors.forename: Brjánn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ljótsson
mesh_terms: D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D013813:Therapy, Computer-Assisted; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Anxiety disorders; CBT; Children; Internet-delivered treatment