Internet-delivered cognitive behavior therapy (ICBT) is a relatively novel treatment format with the potential to increase accessibility of evidence-based care. However, little is known about the feasibility and efficacy of ICBT in children and adolescents. We conducted a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of ICBT for children and adolescents to provide an overview of the field and assess the efficacy of these interventions. A systematic literature search of six electronic databases was performed to identify ICBT intervention studies for children with a psychiatric condition, such as social anxiety disorder, or a somatic condition, such as chronic pain. Two reviewers independently rated study quality. Twenty-five studies, targeting 11 different disorders, were included in the review. Study quality and presentation of treatment variables, such as therapist time and treatment adherence, varied largely. Twenty-four studies (N=1882) were included in the meta-analysis and ICBT yielded moderate between-group effect sizes when compared with waitlist, g=0.62, 95% CI [0.41, 0.84]. The results suggest that CBT for psychiatric and somatic conditions in children and adolescents can be successfully adapted to an internet-delivered format.

Although under-diagnosed, anxiety and depression are among the most prevalent psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents, leading to severe impairment, increased risk of future psychiatric problems, and a high economic burden to society. Universal prevention may be a potent way to address these widespread problems. There are several benefits to universal relative to targeted interventions because there is limited knowledge as to how to screen for anxiety and depression in the general population. Earlier meta-analyses of the prevention of depression and anxiety symptoms among children suffer from methodological inadequacies such as combining universal, selective, and indicated interventions in the same analyses, and comparing cluster-randomized trials with randomized trials without any correction for clustering effects. The present meta-analysis attempted to determine the effectiveness of universal interventions to prevent anxiety and depressive symptoms after correcting for clustering effects. A systematic search of randomized studies in PsychINFO, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar resulted in 30 eligible studies meeting inclusion criteria, namely peer-reviewed, randomized or cluster-randomized trials of universal interventions for anxiety and depressive symptoms in school-aged children. Sixty-three percent of the studies reported outcome data regarding anxiety and 87 % reported outcome data regarding depression. Seventy percent of the studies used randomization at the cluster level. There were small but significant effects regarding anxiety (.13) and depressive (.11) symptoms as measured at immediate posttest. At follow-up, which ranged from 3 to 48 months, effects were significantly larger than zero regarding depressive (.07) but not anxiety (.11) symptoms. There was no significant moderation effect of the following pre-selected variables: the primary aim of the intervention (anxiety or depression), deliverer of the intervention, gender distribution, children's age, and length of the intervention. Despite small effects, we argue for the possible clinical and practical significance of these programs. Future evaluations should carefully investigate the moderators and mediators of program effects to identify active program components.

IMPORTANCE Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a prevalent childhood-onset disorder associated with lifelong adversity and high costs for the individual and society at large. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an established evidence-based treatment for SAD, but its availability is limited.OBJECTIVE To assess the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of therapist-guided internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT) for SAD in youths vs an active comparator, internet-delivered supportive therapy (ISUPPORT). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSThis single-masked, superiority randomized clinical trial enrolled participants at a clinical research unit integrated within the child and adolescent mental health services in Stockholm, Sweden, from September 1, 2017, to October 31, 2018. The final participant reached the 3-month follow-up (primary end point) in May 2019. Children and adolescents 10 to 17 years of age with a principal diagnosis of SAD and their parents were included in the study.INTERVENTIONS ICBT and ISUPPORT, both including 10 online modules, 5 separate parental modules, and 3 video call sessions with a therapist. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURESThe Clinician Severity Rating (CSR), derived from the Anxiety Disorder Interview Schedule, rated by masked assessors 3 months after the end of treatment. The CSR ranges from 0 to 8, with scores of 4 or higher indicating caseness. Secondary outcomes included masked assessor-rated diagnostic status of SAD and global functioning, child-and parent-reported social anxiety and depressive symptoms, and health-related costs.RESULTS Of the 307 youths assessed for eligibility, 103 were randomized to 10 weeks of therapist-guided ICBT (n = 51) or therapist-guided ISUPPORT (n = 52) for SAD. The sample consisted of 103 youths (mean [SD] age, 14.1 [2.1] years; 79 [77%] female). Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy was significantly more efficacious than ISUPPORT in reducing the severity of SAD symptoms. Mean (SD) CSR scores for ICBT at baseline and at the 3-month follow-up were 5.06 (0.95) and 3.96 (1.46), respectively, compared with 4.94 (0.94) and 4.48 (1.30) for ISUPPORT. There was a significant between-group effect size of d = 0.67 (95% CI, 0.21-1.12) at the 3-month follow-up. Similarly, all of the secondary outcome measures demonstrated significant differences with small to large effect sizes, except for child-rated quality of life (nonsignificant). The cost-effectiveness analyses indicated cost savings associated with ICBT compared with ISUPPORT, with the main drivers of the savings being lower medication costs (z = 2.38, P = .02) and increased school productivity (z = 1.99, P = .047) in the ICBT group. There was 1 suicide attempt in the ISUPPORT group; no other serious adverse events occurred in either group. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCEIn this randomized clinical trial, internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy was an efficacious and cost-effective intervention for children and adolescents with SAD. Implementation in clinical practice could markedly increase the ...

The Children's Depression Inventory-Short Version (CDI-S), an abbreviated version of the widely used Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), has been regularly used in recent research. In comparison to the original CDI, the CDI-S has not been rigorously evaluated for its psychometrics. The present study examined the dimensionality, convergent and discriminant validity, and gender differences of the CDI-S in a school-based sample of 809 children 8-12 years of age. All children completed the CDI-S. One subsample additionally completed another measure of depression, 1 subsample completed a measure of anxiety, and 1 subsample completed the CDI-S at a second occasion, after 2 weeks. Information regarding parents' education and household income were available for 476 children. We evaluated the dimensionality of the CDI-S in a series of exploratory factor analyses. Despite some evidence of multidimensionality, a bifactor model revealed that the variation of scores was primarily explained by variations of the general factor. Consequently, the CDI-S is most adequately interpreted as a univocal measure. The CDI-S showed high correlation to another measure of depression and a moderately high correlation to a measure of anxiety, with nonoverlapping confidence intervals. We also found that girls reported higher levels of depressive symptoms than did boys, and we found a negative correlation between depressive symptoms and socioeconomic factors for boys only. Future studies should preferably include a broader age range, to acquire a more comprehensive understanding of the validity of the CDI-S. (PsycINFO Database Record