Internet-Based Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Aids Children”s Anxiety Symptoms

TUESDAY, Aug. 25, 2026 (HealthDay News) — The Master Your Worries internet-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (iCBT) program is associated with long-term improvement in children”s anxiety symptoms, according to a study published online Aug. 14 in JAMA Network Open.

Andre Sourander, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Turku in Finland, and colleagues evaluated the long-term association between iCBT and anxiety among children aged 10 to 13 years. The analysis included 465 children randomly assigned to iCBT or digital psychoeducation and followed for two years.

The researchers found statistically significant differences between the groups in Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED) scores for child and parent at both 12 months (child mean score in the intervention group = 4.5 points higher; Cohen d = 0.35; and parent mean score = 3.4 points higher; Cohen d = 0.36) and 24 months (child mean score in the intervention group = 4.4 points higher; Cohen d = 0.29; and parent mean score = 2.3 points higher; Cohen d = 0.19). The effect size of iCBT increased from six to 12 months, and results were maintained through 24 months. In the anxiety symptom subgroups, statistically significant differences favored iCBT. At 12 months, the mean change in social anxiety was 1.6 points higher in the intervention group (Cohen d = 0.45). 

“The ways of thinking and behaving learnt through cognitive behavioral therapy can gradually become part of the child”s and the whole family”s everyday life,” Sourander said in a statement. “Therefore, the positive effects of the treatment may continue to strengthen long after the actual therapy has ended.”

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