The effect of cognitive behavioural interventions applied to children with anxiety disorders on their anxiety level: A meta-analysis study

This study was conducted using meta-analysis method to determine the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) interventions applied to children with anxiety disorder on children's anxiety level. Databases such as "PubMed", "Science Direct", "Scopus", "Web of Science" and "ULAKBIM" were used to identify randomized controlled and quasi-experimental studies examining the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy on children's anxiety levels. After a comprehensive literature review, studies that met the inclusion criteria were selected for this study. Methodological quality assessment of the studies was performed with the "Critical Appraisal Checklists" developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) for randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies, and Review Manager 5.4.1 program was used for meta-analysis of the data. The study was included 29 studies published between 2015 and 2024. The total sample size of the studies was n=3,028 (experimental group n=2,214 and control group n=814).In the meta-analysis, it was determined that CBT interventions applied to children with anxiety disorder were effective in reducing the anxiety level of children (SMD: -1.51, 95%: -2.07, - 0.95, Z=5.28, P<0.00001). Among the CBT types applied to children, cognitive behavioral play therapy was found to be most effective in reducing children's anxiety levels (SMD: -2.41, 95%:-2.95, -1.88, Z-8.84, p<0.00001). According to the results of the post-intervention, 3rd-6th and 12th month follow-up tests, it was found that CBT reduced the anxiety level of children in a statistically significant way. In accordance with these results, this meta-analysis provides an important update to the literature on the effectiveness of CBT in the treatment of anxiety disorders in children. Keywords: Anxiety, Child, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Intervention