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Assessing Acute Secondary Treatment Outcomes in Early-Onset Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder

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Abstract

Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) in children under 8 years of age, referred to as early-onset OCD, has similar features to OCD in older children, including moderate to severe symptoms, impairment, and significant comorbidity. Family-based cognitive behavioral therapy (FB-CBT) has been found efficacious in reducing OCD symptoms and functional impairment in children ages 5–8 years with OCD; however, its effectiveness on reducing comorbid psychiatric symptoms in this same population has yet to be demonstrated. This study examined the acute effects of FB-CBT vs. family-based relaxation treatment over 14 weeks on measures of secondary treatment outcomes (non-OCD) in children with early-onset OCD. Children in the FB-CBT condition showed significant improvements from pre- to post-treatment on secondary outcomes, with a decrease in overall behavioral and emotional problems, internalizing symptoms, as well as overall anxiety symptom severity. Neither condition yielded significant change in externalizing symptoms. Clinical implications of these findings are considered.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Rhode Island, 10 Chafee Road, Suite 8, Kingston, RI, 02881, USA

    Mary Kathryn Cancilliere

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University Medical School, Providence, RI, USA

    Jennifer Freeman, Abbe Garcia & Kristen Benito

  3. Bradley-Hasbro Children’s Research Center, Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital, East Providence, RI, USA

    Jennifer Freeman, Abbe Garcia & Kristen Benito

  4. Duke Child and Family Study Center, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA

    Jeffrey Sapyta

  5. Child and Adolescent OCD, Tic, Trich, and Anxiety Group, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Martin Franklin

Authors
  1. Mary Kathryn Cancilliere
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  2. Jennifer Freeman
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  3. Abbe Garcia
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  4. Kristen Benito
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  5. Jeffrey Sapyta
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  6. Martin Franklin
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Correspondence to Mary Kathryn Cancilliere.

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Cancilliere, M.K., Freeman, J., Garcia, A. et al. Assessing Acute Secondary Treatment Outcomes in Early-Onset Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 49, 718–729 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-018-0786-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-018-0786-8

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