Technology-delivered cognitive-behavioral therapy for pediatric anxiety disorders: a meta-analysis of remission, posttreatment anxiety, and functioning

Abstract

Background: The efficacy of technology-delivered cognitive-behavioral therapy (tCBT) for pediatric anxiety disorders (ADs) is uncertain as no meta-analysis has examined outcomes in trials that used structured diagnostic assessments at pre- and posttreatment. Methods: We carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of tCBT for pediatric ADs that included participants <18 years of age with a confirmed primary AD according to a structured diagnostic interview. Nine studies with 711 participants were included. Results: tCBT outperformed control conditions for remission for primary AD (37.9% vs. 10.2%; k = 9; OR = 4.73; p