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Although schools are one of the largest providers of behavioral health services for youth, many barriers exist to the implementation of evidence-based interventions in schools. This study used the Stages of Implementation Completion (SIC) to examine school-based implementation outcomes for a computer-assisted cognitive behavioral therapy intervention for anxious youth. Organizational factors and predictors of program startup also were examined. Results indicated that the SIC detected implementation variability in schools and suggested that spending more time completing pre-implementation activities may better prepare schools for active implementation of program delivery. Furthermore, proficiency emerged as a potentially important organizational factor to examine in future school-based implementation research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports issues concerning on behavioral medicine in the U.S. Modifications of psychosocial risk factors; Role of behavioral factors in the development of disease; Problems on health care delivery.

Provides an overview of the guiding theory and descriptive features of the cognitive-behavioral approach to psychosocial interventions for youths. Anxiety disorders; Aggression; Depression; Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; Applications in pain and learning disabilities; Issues; Recommendations.

Reports the characteristics of a large, representative sample of treatment-seeking anxious youth (N=488). Participants, aged 7-17 years (mean 10.7 years), had a principal DSM-IV diagnosis of separation anxiety disorder (SAD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), or social phobia (SP). Although youth with a co-primary diagnosis for which a different disorder-specific treatment would be indicated (e.g., major depressive disorder, substance abuse) were not included, there were few other exclusion criteria. Participants and their parent/guardian underwent an extensive baseline assessment using a broad array of measures capturing diagnostic status, anxiety symptoms and severity, and areas of functional impairment. Means and standard deviations of the measures of psychopathology and data on diagnostic status are provided. The sample had moderate to severe anxiety disorder and was highly comorbid, with 55.3% of participants meeting criteria for at least one non-targeted DSM-IV disorder. Anxiety disorders in youth often do not present as a single/focused disorder: such disorders in youth overlap in symptoms and are highly comorbid among themselves., ((c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The present study aimed to examine somatic complaints in children with anxiety disorders compared to non-anxious control children and whether somatic complaints predict poorer academic performance. The sample consisted of 108 children and adolescents (aged 8-14 years) assessed by a structured diagnostic interview: 69 with a principal (i.e., most severe and/or interfering) anxiety disorder diagnosis and 39 non-anxious community controls. Established child and parent report measure of somatic complaints, anxiety, and internalizing symptoms were completed. The participants' primary teacher was used to assess academic performance. Findings indicated that children with anxiety disorders reported more somatic complaints than the non-anxious community controls. Furthermore, a greater frequency of somatic complaints uniquely predicted poorer academic performance beyond that accounted for by anxiety and internalizing symptoms based on both child and parent report measures. Knowledge about somatic complaints in children with anxiety disorders and their relation to academic functioning may allow for early identification and prevent academic problems.

The authors C.R. Snyder and T.R. Elliott in their article, "Twenty-First Century Graduate Education in Clinical Psychology: A Four Level Matrix Model" (this issue, PP. 1033-1054), reflect on the nature of training needed for optimal clinical psychologists, and offer suggestions for such training within a matrix model. Their position is largely consistent with current American Psychological Association preferences and general training guidelines, and has historical precedence. Indeed, the ideas, though not new or radical, are very sound. Amen, the wheel remains round., ((c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)