Less than half of children treated for anxiety achieve long-term relief

Looking at this through a trauma-informed lens, if their parents were included in the therapy, would more children  benefit? 

Results of the federally funded research, to be published online Jan. 29 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, underscore the importance of vigilant follow-up and rigorous monitoring of symptoms among anxious children, teens and young adults —even when they seem to be on the mend—the investigators say. The results also point to the need for better long-term management of a condition estimated to affect one in five children in the United States, and one that can lead to depression, substance abuse and poor academic performance well into adulthood, the research team says.

Participants received medication, cognitive-behavioral therapy or a combination of the two. Some 135 (47 percent) of the 288 were free of any anxiety six years after the initial treatment, the study found. Nearly 70 percent required some type of intermittent mental health therapy in the years following the original treatment, a finding that Ginsburg says underscores the chronic nature of the disorder. Only sustained watchfulness, she adds, can help spot early signs of anxiety and prevent the re-emergence of a full-blown disorder.

Family dynamics and gender were the two most powerful predictors of long-term anxiety risk. Stable families with clear rules and greater trust who spent quality time together diminished a child's risk of relapse, as did being male.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-01-children-anxiety-long-term-relief.html