Targeting Parental Accommodation in the Treatment of Youth with Anxiety: A Comparison of Two Cognitive Behavioral Treatments

Abstract

Parental accommodation refers to the ways in which a parent modifies his/her behavior to avoid or reduce the distress their child experiences. Parental accommodation of youth anxiety is common, and reduction in accommodation is associated with reduced anxiety after treatment. The current study evaluated the efficacy of an adapted cognitive-behavioral therapy program (CBT) designed to address parental accommodation (Accommodation Reduction Intervention; ARI). Sixty children and adolescents (age 7-17) and their parents were evaluated for youth anxiety and parental accommodation before and after 16 weeks of treatment. Thirty youth received ARI and 30 received Coping Cat (CC). Both youth anxiety and parental accommodation were significantly reduced from pre to posttreatment in youth who received ARI as well as those who received CC. No significant difference was found between the two treatment conditions on any measure of anxiety or accommodation. Findings indicate that an adapted CBT that focuses on parent accommodation (ARI) produced favorable outcomes comparable to Coping Cat. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed.