Prevention of anxiety and depression in school children: The development and testing of the new transdiagnostic EMOTION intervention

Abstract

Anxiety and depression are among the most common mental disorders affecting youth. The two disorders often co-occur and can cause significant distress and impairment. Having elevated symptom levels but not fulfilling the criteria for a disorder is even more common in youths. Experiencing elevated levels of anxious and depressive symptoms constitutes a risk factor for later development of disorders. Preventing internalizing problems in children from developing into disorders could have important public health implications. The main aims of this thesis were to develop a new transdiagnostic intervention targeting anxious and sad school children, to examine the feasibility of the program and to perform an effectiveness evaluation of the intervention. The positive results from the effectiveness study indicate that the transdiagnostic EMOTION intervention is acceptable and feasible in a school setting. The current study lends support to the usefulness of a transdiagnostic approach to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression in children.