A Pilot RCT of a Teacher Delivered School–Home Intervention to Reduce Student Anxiety

Abstract

Anxiety disorders are common and negatively impact students’ social, behavioral, and academic functioning. However, most students with anxiety do not receive needed assistance. The current study evaluated the feasibility and preliminary impact of a brief school–home elementary teacher-administered intervention for reducing student anxiety. Seventy-eight elementary teachers in New England were randomly assigned to be trained and deliver the Teacher Anxiety Program for Elementary Students (TAPES; a five-meeting school–home intervention) or a control condition (Teacher Anxiety Training, TAT). Students (N = 54) were ages 5–11 (mean age 8.0; 78% White; 46% female). Feasibility results indicated that 72% of trained teachers enrolled a student and teachers assigned to TAPES completed a modal number of 5/5 school–home meetings. Teacher fidelity ratings across the five TAPES meetings were adequate. Students in TAPES versus TAT demonstrated greater improvements in anxiety at post-intervention (but not follow-up) based on independent evaluator ratings. On student, teacher, and parent-report measures, students in both groups showed significant improvement over time. Findings suggest that training teachers to identify and assist students with anxiety using a brief intervention appears feasible and shows promise for reducing anxiety and related impairment. Addressing barriers to teacher training and intervention implementation are paramount.

Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03899948. Registered on March 28, 2019.