Comparison of an Anxiety Management Program for Children Implemented at Home and School: Lessons Learned

The feasibility of delivering an early intervention program for the management of child anxiety in either a school- or home setting, relative to a waitlist-control condition, was investigated in this study. Two thousand eight hundred and eighteen Australian children in grades 2–6 were screened for anxiety, and a high-anxious sample of 325 (those scoring in the 90–100th percentile relative to their age-mates) were invited to participate. Of these, 152 consented to participate in the anxiety program. Measures were collected from participating children, their parents, teachers and school counselors. Children participating in the active conditions (home-based and school-based interventions) showed significantly greater reductions in anxiety and anxiety-related interference in daily life, compared to the waitlist-control group according to parents’ reports. In contrast, reports from children and teachers failed to show significant group differences on measures of anxiety. Although these preliminary results show some promise, their replication in future research is necessary given current study limitations. Consideration of feasibility issues, implementation challenges and directions for future research is discussed along with key recommendations for the translation of evidence-based programs to settings beyond the psychology clinic, such as the school and home environments.