Evaluating the efficacy of psychological therapies for generalised anxiety disorder in children and adolescents: A systematic review and narrative synthesis
- Forfatter(e)
- Shipp, L., Leigh, E., Rajesh, S., Waite, P.
- År
- 2025
- Tidsskrift
- Jcpp Advances
- Sider
- 17
- Kategori(er)
- Angst og engstelighet (inkl. både vansker og lidelse) Depresjon og nedstemthet (inkl. både vansker og lidelse)
- Tiltakstype(r)
- Kognitiv atferdsterapi, atferdsterapi og kognitiv terapiMusikk/kunst- og uttrykksterapi
- Abstract
Background
Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is common in children and adolescents, and if not successfully treated, has negative consequences for their current and subsequent mental health. Whilst psychological therapies have previously been assessed in terms of their efficacy for a combination of anxiety disorders, no existing systematic reviews have evaluated GAD in isolation.
Methods
To address this gap, a systematic review was undertaken in line with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidance to explore the outcomes of psychological therapies for youth with a clinician-assessed diagnosis of primary GAD. Searches of three databases (PsycINFO, Medline, and Embase) and two registers (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and ClinicalTrials) were conducted on 25th June 2024, and updated on 10th June 2025. Randomised controlled trials were eligible if they were published in a peer-reviewed journal after 1994, and if data were available for children and adolescents with primary GAD only. We applied few exclusion criteria, with no limitations regarding treatment format, duration, or degree of therapist involvement.
Results
Initial searches identified 7705 articles, but sufficient data were available for only 6 studies (n = 217 participants). Due to high heterogeneity, results were synthesised narratively rather than statistically. Evidence was limited in its quality and quantity, with few trials reporting outcomes or able to provide data at the level of individual anxiety disorders. Five studies reported higher rates of recovery in treatment groups relative to waitlist, and one reported greater remission for the control psychotherapy relative to a novel intervention. Given the lack of evidence, we were unable to assess cost-effectiveness or the effects of therapeutic approach, age, depressive symptoms, or treatment adaptations for neurodevelopmental conditions.
Conclusions
Psychological interventions may increase chances of remission for youth with GAD relative to no treatment, but the magnitude of the improvement is unknown. Further research and better data sharing practices are needed to determine which interventions are associated with the best treatment outcomes, and to identify for whom and under which circumstances they are most effective.Trial Registration This review was pre-registered on PROSPERO (CRD42024557665; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=557665).