OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of a 4-week cognitive-behavioral treatment program for children who refuse to go to school. METHOD: Thirty-four school-refusing children (aged 5 to 15 years) were randomly assigned to a cognitive-behavioral treatment condition or a waiting-list control condition. Treatment consisted of individual child cognitive-behavioral therapy plus parent/teacher training in child behavior management skills. Measures taken before and after treatment included school attendance, child self-report of emotional distress and coping, caregiver reports on emotional and behavioral problems, and clinician ratings of global functioning. RESULTS: Relative to waiting-list controls, children who received cognitive-behavioral therapy exhibited a significant improvement in school attendance. These children also improved on self-reports of fear, anxiety, depression, and coping. Significant improvements also occurred in relation to caregiver reports and clinician ratings. Maintenance of therapeutic gains was demonstrated at a 3-month follow-up assessment. CONCLUSIONS:Cognitive-behavioral treatment of school refusal was efficacious and acceptable. The relative contributions of child therapy and parent/teacher training require further study.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of a 4-week cognitive-behavioral treatment program for children who refuse to go to school. METHOD: Thirty-four school-refusing children (aged 5 to 15 years) were randomly assigned to a cognitive-behavioral treatment condition or a waiting-list control condition. Treatment consisted of individual child cognitive-behavioral therapy plus parent/teacher training in child behavior management skills. Measures taken before and after treatment included school attendance, child self-report of emotional distress and coping, caregiver reports on emotional and behavioral problems, and clinician ratings of global functioning. RESULTS: Relative to waiting-list controls, children who received cognitive-behavioral therapy exhibited a significant improvement in school attendance. These children also improved on self-reports of fear, anxiety, depression, and coping. Significant improvements also occurred in relation to caregiver reports and clinician ratings. Maintenance of therapeutic gains was demonstrated at a 3-month follow-up assessment. CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive-behavioral treatment of school refusal was efficacious and acceptable. The relative contributions of child therapy and parent/teacher training require further study.
Authors: Kathryn Bennett; Katharina Manassis; Stephen D Walter; Amy Cheung; Pamela Wilansky-Traynor; Natalia Diaz-Granados; Stephanie Duda; Maureen Rice; Susan Baer; Paula Barrett; Denise Bodden; Vanessa E Cobham; Mark R Dadds; Ellen Flannery-Schroeder; Golda Ginsburg; David Heyne; Jennifer L Hudson; Philip C Kendall; Juliette Liber; Carrie Masia Warner; Sandra Mendlowitz; Maaike H Nauta; Ronald M Rapee; Wendy Silverman; Lynne Siqueland; Susan H Spence; Elisabeth Utens; Jeffrey J Wood Journal: Depress Anxiety Date: 2013-05-08 Impact factor: 6.505
Authors: Glenn A Melvin; Amanda L Dudley; Michael S Gordon; Ester Klimkeit; Eleonora Gullone; John Taffe; Bruce J Tonge Journal: Child Psychiatry Hum Dev Date: 2017-06
Authors: David Heyne; Floor M Sauter; Thomas H Ollendick; Brigit M Van Widenfelt; P Michiel Westenberg Journal: Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev Date: 2014-06