A Systematic Review Comparing Four Transdiagnostic Programmes for School-Age Children

Transdiagnostic programmes are useful for helping people with internalizing symptoms and comorbid psychopathology. These programmes have as their basic idea that disorders are not separate entities but share common aetiological and maintenance processes. Their use is important with children, who tend to present less differentiated psychopathological manifestations than adults. This systematic review aimed to examine the effectiveness of four evidence-based transdiagnostic programmes: FRIENDS, Pyramid Club, Unified Protocol for Children (UP-C) and Super Skills for Life (SSL). Studies from 2018 to 2023 including children between 4 and 14 years of age were examined. Following PRISMA guidelines, 48 studies that met the inclusion criteria were considered. Most of the studies referred to treatment, only a few used the selected transdiagnostic programmes for prevention, most notably FRIENDS and SSL. Very few of the studies reviewed have been randomized controlled trials, limiting the possibility to examine incremental benefits of these programmes over alternative approaches. The findings show that all programmes showed evidence of effectiveness, but UP-C and SSL appear to be the most promising transdiagnostic programmes for the prevention and treatment of anxiety and depression in children as supported by more numerous studies in recent years. Moreover, UP-C and SSL specifically appeared effective in reducing externalizing problems and improving social skills and prosocial behaviour. Although the results presented are promising, they should be regarded as provisional and in need of further support in randomized controlled trials to test the effectiveness of these evidence-based programmes to ensure the psychological well-being of children and thus reduce healthcare costs.