The clinical assessment of obsessive-compulsive symptoms In children and adolescents - A study with the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS-D)

Objective: The CY-BOCS is internationally the most widely used instrument for the assessment of juvenile obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In this study, for the first time, the psychometric properties of a German version of the CY-BOCS (CY-BOCS-D) are examined in a pediatric OCD sample (n = 169; age 11-18 years). Method: The factor structure, internal consistencies, convergent and divergent validity are analyzed. Results: The exploratory factor analyses confirm a two-factor structure of the CY-BOCS-D Rating Scale and reveal a four-factor structure of the CY-BOCS-D Checklist. The internal consistencies are satisfactory to very good, convergent and divergent validity are confirmed. Conclusions: The results support the CY-BOCS as a gold standard also for OCD-diagnostics in German-speaking countries

Implementation and Evaluation of Therapeutic Online Coaching Using Habit Reversal Training in Children With Tourette's Disorder - A Pilot Study

Cognitive-behavioral interventions can be difficult to implement in daily routine, which is often essential for generalizing treatment effects to natural settings. Furthermore, there is a lack of adequate care options concerning habit reversal training for children with Tourette's disorder. The objective of this study is to evaluate therapeutic online coaching via videoconferencing in the natural environment of children with Tourette's disorder in addition to face-to-face therapy (blended therapy). Online coaching took place twice a week for a maximum of 12 weeks. In a single-case study (n = 5; patients aged 8-11 years), the first results were obtained for exploratory purposes, especially with regard to the feasibility and reduction of symptoms and impairment. Various outcome measures were assessed (severity of symptoms, impairment, practical implementation, and satisfaction). Despite some principal limitations, the findings provide first hints that blended therapy is feasible and improves symptoms in some children with tics

Webcam-Based Online Coaching with Children and Adolescents with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders – A Single-Case Study

Objective: Although there is clear evidence-based knowledge regarding state-of-the-art treatment for pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), two main issues remain in clinical practice: (1) Exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is limited in terms of availability and accessibility or is not adequately provided, and (2) despite large effect sizes of exposure-based CBT, the achieved recovery rates of 50-60 % still show room for improvement. These issues have prompted an increasing focus on delivering exposure-based CBT in new and innovative ways. This study aims to evaluate an intensive therapist-administered online coaching program consisting of exposure with response prevention via video teleconferencing (VTC) as an add-on to weekly outpatient CBT (blended therapy). Method: The blended therapy is examined in n = 5 children and adolescents with OCD using an AB design and multi-informant ratings. Results: This single-case study shows promising results, indicating that a decrease in OCD severity and related functional impairment can be attributed to blended therapy. Moreover, satisfaction with online coaching was high. Conclusions: Despite some principal limitations, the results support the effectiveness and feasibility of blended therapy

Webcam-Based Online Coaching with Children and Adolescents with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders - A Single-Case Study

Objective: Although there is clear evidence-based knowledge regarding state-of-the-art treatment for pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), two main issues remain in clinical practice: (1) Exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is limited in terms of availability and accessibility or is not adequately provided, and (2) despite large effect sizes of exposure-based CBT, the achieved recovery rates of 50-60% still show room for improvement. These issues have prompted an increasing focus on delivering exposure-based CBT in new and innovative ways. This study aims to evaluate an intensive therapist-administered online coaching program consisting of exposure with response prevention via video teleconferencing (VTC) as an add-on to weekly outpatient CBT (blended therapy). Method: The blended therapy is examined inn = 5 children and adolescents with OCD using an AB design and multi-informant ratings. Results: This single-case study shows promising results, indicating that a decrease in OCD severity and related functional impairment can be attributed to blended therapy. Moreover, satisfaction with online coaching was high. Conclusions: Despite some principal limitations, the results support the effectiveness and feasibility of blended therapy

Psychometric evaluation of a parent-rating and self-rating inventory for pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder: German OCD Inventory for Children and Adolescents (OCD-CA)

BackgroundThis study assesses the psychometric properties of the German version of the Padua Inventory-Washington State University Revision for measuring pediatric OCD.MethodsThe parent-rating and self-rating inventory is assessed in a clinical sample (CLIN: n=342, age range=6-18years) comprising an OCD subsample (OCDS: n=181) and a non-OCD clinical subsample (non-OCD: n=161), and in a community sample (COS: n=367, age range=11-18years).ResultsAn exploratory factor analysis yielded a four-factor solution: (1) Contamination & Washing, (2) Catastrophes & Injuries, (3) Checking, and (4) Ordering & Repeating. Internal consistencies of the respective scales were acceptable to excellent across all samples, with the exception of the self-report subscale Ordering and Repeating in the community sample. The subscales correlated highly with the total score. Intercorrelations between the subscales were mainly r.70, indicating that the subscales were sufficiently independent of each other. Convergent and divergent validity was supported. Participants in the OCD subsample scored significantly higher than those in the non-OCD clinical subsample and the COS on all scales. In the COS, self-rating scores were significantly higher than parent-rating scores on all scales, while significant mean differences between informants were only found on two subscales in the OCD subsample.ConclusionThe German version of the Padua Inventory-Washington State University Revision for measuring pediatric OCD is a promising, valid and reliable instrument to assess self-rated and parent-rated pediatric OCD symptoms in clinical and non-clinical (community) populations

Psychometric Properties of a German Parent and Self-Rating Scale for the Assessment of Anxiety Disorders

This study examined the psychometric properties of a German ICD-10 and DSM-IV-based external (parents) and self-reporting (children) rating scale for the assessment of anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorders (FBB-ANZ/SBB-ANZ) in two clinical samples (n = 182, n = 130). Additionally, their factor structures were analyzed using two community samples (n = 724, n = 281). In the clinical samples, most of the questionnaires' scales showed satisfactory internal consistency (.59 <= alpha <= .93). In all samples, exploratory factor analyses largely revealed factors concordant with the scales defined a priori based on ICD-10 and DSM-IV diagnoses of anxiety disorders. Intercorrelations between the subscales within the questionnaires varied from low to moderate, suggesting that they capture different constructs. Moderate agreement between the corresponding scales of the parents and children questionnaires was found. The results support the questionnaires' reliability and validity. Further research should concentrate on the convergent and divergent validity of the subscales

Effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy in children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorders treated in an outpatient clinic

Background: Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is considered as treatment of fi rst choice for children and adolescents with obsessive- compulsive disorders (OCD). However, its effectiveness has so far mostly been examined in randomized controlled trials with strictly manualized interventions. Only few studies have examined whether the effectiveness of CBT for juvenile OCD generalizes to clinical practice. Method: To test the effectiveness of CBT under routine care conditions, data of n = 53 patients with parent-ratings and n = 53 patients with self-ratings that were treated in a university-based outpatient clinic for child and adolescent psychotherapy was analyzed. Pre-post-mean-comparisons, effect sizes and the clinical signifi cance of changes of the symptoms were examined. Results: OCD and comorbid symptoms were signifi cantly reduced during treatment. Strong effect sizes (Cohen's d) were found for parent rated (d = 0.91) and patient rated (d = 0.88) OCD symptoms. Moderate to strong pre-post-effect sizes were found for the reduction of parent rated (d = 0.55 to d = 0.87) and patient rated (d = 0.46 to d = 0.74) comorbid symptoms. The percentage of children and adolescents who achieved clinically signifi cant improvements and no longer showed dysfunctional OCD symptoms post-treatment was 46.3 % according to the parent-ratings and 59.4 % according to the self-ratings. Concerning comorbid symptoms the same was reached for between 22.5 % and 45.5 % of the patients (parent-ratings) and between 32.0 % and 81.8 % (self-ratings) respectively. Conclusions: Signifi cant reductions in both OCD and comorbid symptoms were demonstrated over the course of cognitive-behavioral therapy of juvenile OCD disorders in a university outpatient clinic for child and adolescent psychotherapy. These results indicate that routine CBT treatment is an effective way to treat juvenile OCD disorders in clinical practice

Extended treatment of multimodal cognitive behavioral therapy in children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder improves symptom reduction: a within-subject design

Background: Based on the current state of research regarding the treatment in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) (in severe cases with additional pharmacotherapy) is considered as the first-line treatment according to internationally recognized guidelines. Research is mostly based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs; efficacy research). Thus, examined treatment conditions, especially the treatment duration, and patients' characteristics do not necessarily correspond to those found within routine care. Studies showed CBT packages as a whole to be efficacious, but less is known about the effects of individual CBT components. Furthermore, effects on comorbid symptoms or psychosocial impairment have been often neglected and different rater perspectives have been hardly considered in previous research. Methods: This effectiveness study aimed to examine the effects of multimodal CBT in children, adolescents, and young adults (age 6-20 years) with OCD (n = 38) within routine care. Effects on obsessive-compulsive and co-existing symptoms were evaluated in a within-subject design by comparing changes during the assessment phase with 12-week standard treatment and with individually tailored extended treatment. Additionally, within the standard treatment, non-exposure treatment was compared to exposure treatment. Multi-informant assessment was applied, and the analyses included multilevel modeling and t-tests for pre-post comparisons. Results: During the standard treatment and extended treatment, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, strain, and functional impairment significantly decreased. Moreover, a significant reduction of overall comorbid symptoms emerged, particularly regarding internalizing symptoms, including anxiety and depression. Comparisons of treatment components indicated that adding exposure with response prevention (ERP) has an additional positive effect. Clinical improvement and remission rates increased considerably when more treatment sessions were provided. Conclusions: These results suggest that improvement after an initial 12-week course of treatment may not allow for the prediction of non-responders/non-remitters and for the termination of treatment. Overall, the findings show that results from randomized controlled trials are transferrable to routine care

Effectiveness of outpatient cognitive-behavioral therapy for adolescents under routine care conditions on behavioral and emotional problems rated by parents and patients: an observational study

Few studies have examined the effectiveness of outpatient cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) delivered in routine care settings for children and adolescents with mental disorders. This observational study examined changes in behavioral and emotional problems of adolescents with mental disorders during routine outpatient CBT delivered at a university outpatient clinic and compared them with a historical control group of youths who received academic tutoring of comparable length and intensity. Assessments were made at the start and end of treatment (pre- and post-assessment) using parent ratings of the German versions of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and self-ratings of the Youth Self-Report (YSR) scale. For the main analysis, 677 adolescents aged 11aEuro'21 years had complete data. Changes from pre- to post-assessment showed significant reductions in mental health problems on both parent- and self-ratings. Pre- to post-effect sizes (Cohen's d) were small-to-medium for the total sample (d = 0.23 to d = 0.62) and medium-to-large for those adolescents rated in the clinical range on each (sub)scale at the start of treatment (d = 0.65 to d = 1.48). We obtained medium net effect sizes (d = 0.69) for the CBCL and YSR total scores when patients in the clinical range were compared to historical controls. However, a substantial part of the sample remained in the clinical range at treatment end. The results suggest that CBT is effective for adolescents with mental disorders when administered under routine care conditions but must be interpreted conservatively due to the lack of a direct control condition