A Comparison Between Cognitive, Behavioral, and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Not Applicable

Completed

Conditions: Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Interventions: Behavioral: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Other: Cognitive therapy (CT)
Behavioral: Applied relaxation and self-control desensitization

Registration Number: NCT00635999

Lead Sponsor: Michelle G. Newman

Brief Summary: This study will evaluate the effectiveness of three adaptive coping treatments in lessening anxiety in adults with generalized anxiety disorder.

Detailed Description: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a common psychiatric disorder that affects nearly 6.8 million adults in the United States. GAD is characterized by persistent feelings of worry and anxiety that remain even when there is little reason for concern. The excessive worry that people with GAD experience can be so extreme that carrying out activities of daily life becomes difficult. GAD is often accompanied by physical symptoms as well, including muscle aches, nausea, sweating, exhaustion, irritability, frequent urination, and shaking. People with GAD are also at a higher risk for other disorders, including depression and substance abuse, making early treatment of GAD important. Forms of psychotherapy that concentrate on stress management, relaxation techniques, and control of thoughts about anxiety-provoking situations may be effective treatments for people with GAD. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of three adaptive coping treatments, relaxation and self-control desensitization, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and a combination of the two, in lessening anxiety in adults with GAD.

Participation in this study will last about 28 months. All participants will first complete three assessment sessions that will include an interview about anxiety symptoms and medical history, self-report questionnaires, and a physiological evaluation. After the first interview, participants will be asked to rate their level of anxiety four times a day in a diary. They will continue with these daily diary entries through the completion of treatment. Once participants complete the first 2 weeks' worth of daily ratings, participants will be assigned randomly to receive treatment with relaxation and self-control desensitization, CBT, or a combination of the two treatments. All participants will receive 14 weekly treatment sessions lasting between 1.5 and 2 hours each. During CBT sessions, participants will learn to identify ways in which they perceive themselves and the world and how to modify these thoughts to reduce anxiety. Applied relaxation and self-control desensitization sessions will teach participants relaxation techniques and the use of imagery for coping with anxiety. Between sessions, all participants will complete homework assignments that will involve practicing the approaches learned in sessions and continuing the daily diaries.

Upon completion of treatment, participants will repeat the initial assessments. Follow-up visits will occur at Months 6, 12, and 24 after treatment completion and will include repeat interview and self-report sessions and completion of 1 week's worth of daily diary entries before each visit.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 76

Inclusion Criteria

Primary diagnosis of GAD

Exclusion Criteria

Diagnosis of any of the following: panic disorder, subclinical GAD, severe depression, psychosis, or organic brain syndrome
Currently receiving therapy for GAD or has previously received CBT
Medical contributions to anxiety
Currently taking antidepressant medication
Current substance abuse

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy	Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy	Participants will receive treatment with cognitive therapy, progressive and applied relaxation, and self-control desensitization
Cognitive Therapy (CT)	Cognitive therapy (CT)	Participants will receive purely cognitive therapy including identification of maladaptive thought processes and training in cognitive restructuring.
Purely Behavioral therapy	Applied relaxation and self-control desensitization	Participants will receive treatment with progressive and applied relaxation and self-control desensitization.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
High End State Function	10-14 days after last therapy session and months 6, 12, and 24 following last therapy session	Percentage of participants meeting high end state functioning (e.g., within 1 standard deviation of mean of nonanxious samples on Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scales, Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Penn State Worry Questionnaire, and Reactions to Relaxation and Arousal Questionnaire)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Within-group Change Represented as Cohen's d Effect Sizes	10-14 days after last therapy session and months 6, 12, and 24 following last therapy session	Cohen's d within-group effect sizes comparing pre-therapy assessment to assessment at 10-14 days after last therapy session, at 6-month follow-up, at 12-month follow-up, and at 24-month follow-up. Findings reported in table are Cohen's d effect sizes averaged over Hamilton Anxiety Scale (scores ranging from 0-56, higher scores mean more anxiety), the Assessor Severity Scale (scores ranging from 0-8, higher scores mean more severity), and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait version (scores ranging from 20-80, higher scores mean more state anxiety). The within-group effective sizes are the posttherapy \[or follow-up\] mean minus pretherapy mean divided by the pretherapy standard deviation.