Exposure-based cognitive-behavioral treatment for phobic and anxiety disorders: Treatment effects and maintenance for Hispanic/Latino relative to European-American youths

Objective: To examine treatment response and maintenance to exposure-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for Hispanic/Latino relative to European-American youths with phobic and anxiety disorders. Method: A total of 131 Hispanic/Latino and European-American youths (aged 6-16 years) who participated in two previous clinical trials for phobic and anxiety disorders were compared along diagnostic recovery rates, clinically significant improvement, and youth- and parent-completed questionnaire scores using traditional hypothesis tests, including effect sizes, and statistical equivalence tests. Results: After treatment, Hispanic/Latino and European-American youths responded similarly to exposure-based CBT in their diagnostic recovery rates and questionnaires. Effect sizes for questionnaire data were also more similar than different across the two groups. With regard to treatment maintenance, Hispanic/Latino and European-American youths also responded more similarly than differently, albeit with some variations within specific assessment points in questionnaire data. Conclusions: Exposure-based CBT for phobic and anxiety disorders produced positive treatment gains and maintenance for Hispanic/Latino youths who participated in the trials. The treatment response that can be expected is generally similar (i.e., favorable) and equivalent to that found with European-American youths based on all the available indices of change.