A Study in the Impact of Coping-Cat-based Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT) on Reduced Anxiety in the Children Aged 8 to 10 with Anxiety Disorder

This study investigates the effect of CBT based on Coping Cat on reduced anxiety symptoms in the Iranian children within the age range of 8 to 10 suffering from anxiety. It was conducted based on a quasi-experimental design with pretest and posttest and control group. 20 children within the preceding age range suffering from generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, and social anxiety were selected using the goal-directed convenience sampling method after they underwent clinical interviews arranged by the child and adolescent psychiatrist, assessment with a semi-structured diagnostic interview of mood disorders and schizophrenia for children and adolescents (K-SADS) and placement at the clinical level according to the DSM-based anxiety scale and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and placed into two groups of 10 (treatment and waiting list groups). Intervention therapy based on Coping Cat individual cognitive-behavior program was provided to the members of the treatment group for 16 sessions. The research data were gathered by means of DSM-based anxiety scale and CBCL and Spence Scale (Parent and Child version), and further analyzed using Mann-Whitney test, Friedman test, and significant clinical changes. The results suggest that Coping-cat-based CBT significantly reduces anxiety symptoms of the treatment group members vis-à-vis the waiting group both statistically (p<0.001, Z=3.335) and clinically, which continued in one-and-a-half and three-month follow-ups. Confirming the results of previous studies, the research findings indicate that Coping-cat CBT affects reduced anxiety symptoms in the Iranian children falling within the age range of 8 to 10 and that such an impact persists during follow-ups. Therefore, its basic application in psychological therapy centers could be feasible.