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The Role of Comorbid Depression in Youth Anxiety Treatment Outcomes

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Abstract

Findings have been mixed regarding the relationship between comorbid depression and anxiety and treatment outcomes for anxious youth. The current study compared a sample of anxious youth with a comorbid depressive disorder (n = 20) and those without comorbid depression (n = 137). All participants received 16 weekly sessions of Coping Cat and completed measures assessing anxiety/depression severity, impairment, and functioning at pretreatment and posttreatment. Results indicated that anxiety-focused CBT is efficacious for anxious youth with and without comorbid depressive disorders, with a higher rate of symptom improvement for youth with comorbid depression during treatment. However, comorbid depression was associated with higher severity at baseline and after treatment. Thus, despite the higher rate of symptom improvement, anxious youth with comorbid depression may benefit from additional treatment to address remaining symptoms.

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Funding

This study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (F31MH112211).

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Author notes

  1. Hannah E. Frank

    Present address: Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Bradley Hospital, 1011 Veterans Memorial Parkway, Riverside, RI, 02915, USA

  2. Madison K. Titone

    Present address: VASDHD/UCSD, 3350 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego, CA, 92161, USA

  3. Elana R. Kagan

    Present address: Kennedy Krieger Institute, 720 Aliceanna St, Baltimore, MD, 21202, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Hannah E. Frank, Madison K. Titone, Elana R. Kagan, Lauren B. Alloy & Philip C. Kendall

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  1. Hannah E. Frank
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  2. Madison K. Titone
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  3. Elana R. Kagan
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  4. Lauren B. Alloy
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  5. Philip C. Kendall
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Correspondence to Hannah E. Frank.

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Conflict of interest

Dr. Kendall receives royalties from the sales of materials related to the treatment of anxiety in youth.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

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Frank, H.E., Titone, M.K., Kagan, E.R. et al. The Role of Comorbid Depression in Youth Anxiety Treatment Outcomes. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 52, 1024–1031 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-020-01081-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-020-01081-7

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