Testing a Novel Parent- Based Treatment for Adolescent Anxiety Disorders

Up to one in three adolescents will experience a clinical anxiety disorder, which can have devastating effects on their daily lives if left untreated or not treated effectively.

All-too-often, existing treatments are limited in their approach and not always well- suited to the specific needs of anxious adolescents. Meanwhile, adolescents frequently rely on their parents for help managing their anxiety which puts pressure on parents, particularly when they are unsure how to best support their child.

The project

Dr Rebecca Etkin will be testing an innovative parent-based intervention called SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions). Rather than focusing directly on the adolescent, SPACE works by training parents to respond supportively while reducing ‘accommodation’.

‘Accommodation’ is when a parent adjusts their own behaviour or routines to prevent or reduce their child’s anxiety – for example, allowing them to skip social events or stressful situations. Whilst there are times when this is necessary, and can bring short term relief, accommodation reinforces anxiety over time because it means the child never learns to cope with their difficult feelings and feared situations.

The SPACE intervention has already been found effective for treating anxiety in children. But, it has not been widely tested with adolescents. Dr Etkin and her team will tailor SPACE to address the specific needs of adolescents and test how effective it is.

The process

Dr Etkin will involve groups of adolescents and parents with lived experience of anxiety disorders as ‘co-design’ partners to identify the specific needs of adolescents and the challenges their parents face. Findings from these co-design group meetings will be used to tailor the SPACE intervention for this specific age group.

The tailored SPACE intervention will then be evaluated in a clinical trial of 108 14-17-year-old adolescents with anxiety disorders and their parents. Families will be randomly assigned to receive either 12-weeks of SPACE or of another parent-based approach called Parent Education and Support (PES) to compare which is most effective for treating adolescent anxiety.

The potential

If successful, this project could offer a new evidence-based treatment approach for adolescent anxiety that empowers parents as the agents of change. By equipping  parents with supportive and practical tools, this intervention could help narrow the treatment gap that currently exists for adolescents with anxiety and ensure more young people and their families get the help they need to live happier, healthier lives.