Objectives: To investigate the incidence and correlates of early treatment response among youth receiving cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Methods: 56 youth who participated in a randomized controlled trial of CBT for PTSD and D-cycloserine were included. Youth with PTSD symptoms below clinical cutoff after Session 4 of a 12-session protocol were classified as early treatment responders (32% of parent reports, 44.6% of child reports). Pretreatment characteristics were examined in relation to responder status.
Results: Lower levels of pretreatment PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptoms and fewer trauma types were related to child- and parent-reported responder status (d = .57, d = .52, respectively). Early treatment response was maintained at follow-up.
Conclusions: Pretreatment symptoms levels and number of traumas may play an important role in predicting early treatment response. Correlates of early treatment response may provide avenues for identifying youth who could benefit from abbreviated protocols.
Keywords: PTSD; children and adolescents; cognitive behavior therapy; early treatment response.
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