Symptom Changes in Children and Adolescents With Internalizing Conditions During Treatment

• Main Author: Bertelson, Rachel Samantha
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: ScholarWorks 2017
• Subjects: Anxiety; children and adolescents; Children's Depression Inventory; Depression; Internalizing Disorders; Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale-Second Edition; Clinical Psychology
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4040; https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5143&context=dissertations

Mental health conditions, such as internalizing disorders, in children and adolescents have been attributed to higher than expected levels of high school dropouts, juvenile crimes, and suicide. Previous research studies provide limited information on factors influencing treatment success for children and adolescents diagnosed with internalizing disorders. This study utilized a nonequivalent comparison group design gathered from an archived data set from a sample of children and adolescents (N = 215) who participated in an intensive outpatient managed mental health care treatment program. Self-report data were retrieved from previous responses to the Children's Depression Inventory and Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale - Second Edition to explore factors related to treatment effectiveness for children and adolescents with internalizing symptoms. Data were analyzed using a mixed model repeated measures ANOVA to analyze main effects and interactions. This analysis identified if gender, ethnicity, age group, and treatment duration were risk factors related to symptom amelioration or deterioration for children and adolescents diagnosed with internalizing disorders across time. Females with internalizing disorders reported significantly higher levels of depression symptom change than males with internalizing disorders. All other results did not show any statistically significant relationships. Results suggest that therapists should consider gender-related factors when providing treatment to children and adolescents with internalizing disorders. Active clinical research epitomizes the belief of social change by putting research to practice and utilizing available tools to predict predictive risk in the treatment of children and adolescents.