Attrition in the treatment of childhood anxiety disorders.

Abstract

The present study explored the differences between completers and terminators (including both refusers and dropouts) of an individual cognitive-behavioral treatment for childhood anxiety. Participants were 190 children with anxiety disorders and their parents: 146 completed treatment and 44 terminated. Terminators were more likely to live in a single-parent household, be ethnic minorities, and self-report less anxious symptomatology. Follow-up interviews indicated that identifiable child factors were influential in terminators' decisions to discontinue treatment. Among terminators, differences between refusers and dropouts were also investigated.