Abstract
Treatment of pediatric anxiety disorders is complicated by their number, comorbidity, and the differential impact of a child's anxiety on the child and parents. Measurement-based care, using patient-level rating scales, can guide clinical decisions, track symptom improvement, and monitor treatment response. We review instruments for measurement-based care in pediatric anxiety. Measures used to track pediatric anxiety should be brief, accessible, sensitive to change, and reliable. Because parent-child agreement about a child's anxiety tends to be low, measures from both should be obtained. Measurements can also track functional improvement, expectancy related to treatment, and readiness to change. Treatment of pediatric anxiety disorders is complicated by their number, comorbidity, and the differential impact of a child's anxiety on the child and parents. Measurement-based care, using patient-level rating scales, can guide clinical decisions, track symptom improvement, and monitor treatment response. We review instruments for measurement-based care in pediatric anxiety. Measures used to track pediatric anxiety should be brief, accessible, sensitive to change, and reliable. Because parent-child agreement about a child's anxiety tends to be low, measures from both should be obtained. Measurements can also track functional improvement, expectancy related to treatment, and readiness to change.
