Examining the Efficacy of Mindfulness Cognitive Therapy to Reduce Anxiety Symptoms in Children

Syeda, Maisha M.

Examining the Efficacy of Mindfulness Cognitive Therapy to Reduce Anxiety Symptoms in Children

dc.contributor.advisor	Andrews, Jac
dc.contributor.author	Syeda, Maisha M.
dc.contributor.committeemember	Mendaglio, Sal
dc.contributor.committeemember	Drefs, Michelle A.
dc.date	2020-02
dc.date.accessioned	2019-11-19T22:42:26Z
dc.date.available	2019-11-19T22:42:26Z
dc.date.issued	2019-11
dc.description.abstract	Anxiety disorders are a prevalent childhood psychopathology and can lead to significant distress and interference in children’s daily functioning. Hence, there is a consistent need for empirically supported interventions to alleviate children’s distress associated with anxiety issues. One promising intervention for childhood anxiety that warrant further empirical attention is Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). A randomized controlled trial with waitlist controls was employed to examine the effects of MBCT to reduce anxiety symptoms in children, who were aged 9-12. The study also examined whether participation in MBCT was associated with mindfulness growth and improvements in emotional reactivity in children. Stratified randomization procedure, having participants’ anxiety symptom severity and sex as co-variates, was carried out to assign participants into either the intervention (n = 12) or control (n = 13) group. The intervention group completed a 12-week manualized MBCT program, and self- and parent-reports of child’s anxiety symptoms were collected at baseline screening, post-MBCT, and a one-month follow-up. Intervention participants also reported on their mindfulness and emotional reactivity at pre-, mid-, and post-MBCT, and a one-month follow-up. Self- and parent-reports of anxiety were also collected at baseline screening and post-MBCT for the control group. Intervention parents reported significant decreases in the number and severity of their child’s anxiety symptoms from baseline screening to post-MBCT, and this effect was maintained a month after intervention. There were no significant differences in the number and severity of parent-reported anxiety symptoms in the control group while control participants were waiting to receive MBCT. Both control and intervention participants did not report significant changes in their anxiety symptoms from baseline screening to post-MBCT. However, intervention participants who did report some decreases in their anxiety symptoms from baseline screening to post-MBCT, decreases in their anxiety symptoms significantly correlated with increases in their mindfulness at mid-MBCT. Finally, intervention participants did not report any significant change in their emotional reactivity from before to after intervention. Implications of these findings, along with limitations and future direction for research, are discussed.	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Syeda, M. M. (2019). Examining the Efficacy of Mindfulness Cognitive Therapy to Reduce Anxiety Symptoms in Children (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.	en_US
dc.identifier.doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/37259
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1880/111236
dc.language.iso	eng	en_US
dc.publisher.faculty	Werklund School of Education	en_US
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary	en
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.	en_US
dc.subject	Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy	en_US
dc.subject	anxiety symptoms	en_US
dc.subject	randomized controlled trial	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Mental Health	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Psychology--Clinical	en_US
dc.title	Examining the Efficacy of Mindfulness Cognitive Therapy to Reduce Anxiety Symptoms in Children	en_US
dc.type	doctoral thesis	en_US
thesis.degree.discipline	Education Graduate Program – Educational Psychology	en_US
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary	en_US
thesis.degree.name	Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)	en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopy	false	en_US