The Feelings Club: Evaluating a School-based Intervention for Children at Risk for Depression and Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety and mood disorders are among the most prevalent mental health problems in childhood. They have severe long-term morbidity, and associated academic and social impairment.

Building on the investigators' experience with outcome evaluation in clinically anxious or depressed children, they propose to evaluate within the school system a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention for children in grades 3 to 6 with elevated symptoms of anxiety or depression on standardized questionnaires.

The participant's outcomes will be compared with those of similar children randomly assigned to an activity control group.

Hypothesis 1a): Children in the intervention condition will show greater symptom reduction relative to children in the control condition (primary outcome: anxiety symptoms).

Hypothesis 1b): Children in the intervention condition will show fewer symptoms during follow-up relative to children in the control condition.

Hypothesis 2: Children with anxious or depressive symptoms treated in the school setting using CBT have a lower risk of developing internalizing disorders within 1 year of treatment than children in a control condition.

Hypothesis 3: Self-esteem, anxiety and depression-related impairment, and academic functioning will improve more in intervention participants than in controls.

Hypothesis 4: School characteristics, child age, and attitudes of participating personnel are predictive of treatment response.