Evaluation of a Primary Prevention Program for Anxiety Disorders Using Story Books

This study reports the results of a study evaluating a book-supported prevention program "Dominique's Handy Tricks" for anxiety disorders in children aged 9 to 12 years of age. This cognitive-behavioural program is delivered using a combination of story-based books and workshop sessions. The originality of the program comes from the use of story books that were not developed for anxiety management specifically. Every session is based on a story describing characters facing common stressors in childhood and how they managed to cope with their daily problems. In our randomized control trial with 46 children, participation in the program lead to a significant improvement in coping skills, self-efficacy, anxiety sensitivity, signs of anxiety and phobic avoidance. The theoretical and practical elements underlying the delivery of this primary prevention programs are described. It is suggested that such an approach, without any labelling specific to anxiety disorders, can be useful in universal primary prevention programs.

Inclusion criteria

• Recruitment for this study was open to every child in the school and was carried out with the help of staff from schools in Gatineau and Saint-André Avelin, Quebec.
• A total of 73 children aged between 9 and 12 years of age were screened.

Exclusion criteria

Since the program does not target a clinical population, the following exclusion criteria were used:

• (1) a global score > 75 on the Child Behavior Checklist;
• (2) a score > 60 on the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED, child version);
• (3) outliers on outcome measures administered at pre-test; and
• (4) children who did not show up for the first workshop. The final enrolled study sample consisted of 59 children.