Family Accommodation as a Predictor of Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Outcome for Childhood Anxiety

The current study examined the association of family accommodation (i.e., assisting the child to avoid experiencing anxiety and/or removing demands secondary to anxiety) and treatment remission and response among 72 youth (ages 7 to 13 years) who participated in a randomized clinical trial of a computer-assisted cognitive-behavioral therapy for pediatric anxiety. Measures of family accommodation, anxiety, treatment improvement, and functional impairment were administered. Results suggest that every one unit increase in the level of impact of accommodation on child functioning at baseline was associated with a 26% decrease in the odds of remission at the end of treatment. None of the accommodation subscales predicted treatment response. Findings support the practitioner assessing family accommodation at baseline and further research on family accommodation and treatment outcomes.