Family-Based Prevention Program for Childhood Anxiety

Anxiety disorders are serious conditions that can negatively impact a person's overall
functioning. This study will enroll mothers with anxiety disorders and their children to
determine whether a brief family-based intervention will reduce childhood anxiety better than
standard care.

Participants will be randomly assigned to either the family-based prevention program or to
evaluation only for 8 weeks. Participants in the prevention program will have weekly sessions
with a therapist and will learn skills to help reduce anxiety. Self- and parent-reports,
diagnostic interviews, a computerized memory task, and a videotaped parent-child interaction
task will be used to assess participants. Assessments will be conducted at study start and
one week after intervention completion (Week 9). Follow-up visits will be conducted at 6 and
12 months after intervention completion.

Inclusion Criteria:

- Mothers with a current, primary anxiety disorder

- 7-12 year old children without an anxiety disorder

Exclusion Criteria:

- Mothers that do not have a current, primary anxiety disorder

- 7-12 year old children with an anxiety disorder

- 7-12 year old children that are currently receiving treatment for anxiety that could
interfere with the study