Effectiveness of psychological interventions for child and adolescent specific anxiety disorders: A systematic review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses

Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent in children and adolescents. The associated functional limitations and the negative psychological consequences have led to increased research into effective psychological interventions. What is missing, however, is a comprehensive review of the literature addressing the effectiveness of these treatments for specific disorders. A systematic review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses evaluating the effectiveness of psychological treatments for specific anxiety disorders in children and adolescents was performed. The study followed PRISMA guidelines. Four bibliographic databases were searched: MEDLINE (PubMed), PsycINFO, Web of Science (Core Collection), and The Cochrane Library. Two authors independently screened the articles by title, abstract, and full-text, according to established inclusion and exclusion criteria. Two independent authors evaluated the methodological quality of the included reviews using AMSTAR-2. Five records were included in this systematic review. Four studies included children and adolescents with specific phobias, generalized anxiety disorder, and separation anxiety disorder and one focused solely on nocturnal fears. Cognitive behavioral therapy-based interventions have been shown to be effective for the treatment of these diagnoses in both short and long term. The methodological quality of the included studies was classified as critically low. Cognitive behavioral interventions are effective in treating specific phobias, generalized anxiety disorder, and separation anxiety disorder and nighttime fears in children and adolescents. The improvement of the methodological quality and the need for further studies focusing on the effectiveness of treatments for specific disorders are discussed.