Expanding the research agenda on interventions for child and adolescent anxiety disorders - Introduction

Anxiety disorders are among the most common disorders affecting children and adolescents. Most pediatric anxiety treatment trials have been conducted in specialized research clinics and have targeted mixed samples of anxious children. In addition, the majority have focused on children ages 7 through 14 years, and used waiting-list controls which provide limited documentation of the specific contribution of CBT Another issue is that despite the efficacy demonstrated for existing cognitive-behavioral treatments, the majority of affected children in the community do not receive mental health services. Future research is needed examining the effectiveness of interventions: (a) compared to other treatments, (b) tailored to specific disorders, and (c) for younger children below age, 9 as well as adolescents. An additional critical direction will be to evaluate the efficacy of interventions in less controlled and innovative settings, and to adapt our existing treatments to be feasible for delivery by less specialized clinicians and more applicable to children with anxiety disorders who present in community settings. This special series in Cognitive and Behavioral Practice aims to expand the research agenda on interventions for pediatric anxiety disorders to address these unmet needs of anxious children and adolescents.