Effectiveness of Emotion-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in Depression and Its Components in Children with Social Anxiety

Depression in children is especially related to social anxiety. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of emotion-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (ECBT) in depression and its components in children with social anxiety.

This research was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest control group design. Among the primary school students of Qom in the 2019 academic year, 46 students whose score was higher than 29.5 on the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale for Children and Adolescents were selected and randomly assigned to experimental (n=23) and control (n=23) groups. Firstly, both groups responded to Children's Depression Inventory as the pre-test. Thereafter, the experimental group participated in the 16 sessions of ECBT, and the control group remained on the waiting list. Finally, the two groups were administered the post-test.

The results of Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) demonstrated that after the control of pre-test effects, there was a significant difference in the linear combination of depression components of the two groups (Wilks' lambda= 0.065, F33,5= 94.662, P= 0.001). The results of univariate tests of ANCOVA also showed a significant decrease (P<0.01) in all depression components (and also the total score) in children of the experimental group after the ECBT sessions.

As evidenced by the results of this study, ECBT is an effective treatment for depression in children with social anxiety. It is suggested that mental health professionals prioritize this treatment in their therapeutic programs.