TY - JOUR
T1 - The impact of a guided paced breathing audiovisual intervention on anxiety symptoms in Palestinian children
T2 - a pilot randomized controlled trial
AU - Shank, Lisa M.
AU - Grace, Victoria
AU - Delgado, Janna
AU - Batchelor, Paul
AU - de Raadt St James, Alexander
AU - Sundaresan, Avirath
AU - Bouchedid, Lara
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.
PY - 2023/11
Y1 - 2023/11
N2 - Background: Children in Palestine may be at high risk for anxiety symptoms. However, access to mental health services is limited. Therefore, the objective of this study was to conduct a pilot randomized controlled trial to examine whether a guided audiovisual paced breathing intervention was feasible, acceptable, and improved anxiety symptoms in Palestinian children. Methods: Students (6–10 years old) in an after-school program in Palestine were randomly assigned to the intervention or control condition. All participants completed a pre- and post-intervention measure of anxiety using the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale. Participants in the intervention completed 24 sessions over 8 weeks and rated breathing ease as well as pre- and post-session relaxation on a 5-point Likert scale. To examine condition differences in post-intervention anxiety, four analyses of covariance were conducted, adjusting for age, sex, and pre-intervention anxiety. Results: A total of 144 participants (65.3% girls; Mage = 7.5 ± 1.2; 50% per condition) enrolled in the study. There were no differences in demographics or baseline anxiety between the two conditions (ps >.05). Participants reported that it was easy to breathe during the sessions (Ms = 4.1–4.7, SDs = 0.5–1.1). For all but the first session, participants reported being more relaxed after the breathing session than before (ps <.003). Post-intervention, participants in the intervention reported fewer anxiety symptoms compared to participants in the control condition (ps <.01). Conclusion: A guided paced breathing audiovisual intervention was feasible and had a significant positive impact on anxiety symptoms in Palestinian children compared to a control condition. Future research should examine whether the audiovisual guided breathing intervention significantly improves long-term outcomes.
AB - Background: Children in Palestine may be at high risk for anxiety symptoms. However, access to mental health services is limited. Therefore, the objective of this study was to conduct a pilot randomized controlled trial to examine whether a guided audiovisual paced breathing intervention was feasible, acceptable, and improved anxiety symptoms in Palestinian children. Methods: Students (6–10 years old) in an after-school program in Palestine were randomly assigned to the intervention or control condition. All participants completed a pre- and post-intervention measure of anxiety using the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale. Participants in the intervention completed 24 sessions over 8 weeks and rated breathing ease as well as pre- and post-session relaxation on a 5-point Likert scale. To examine condition differences in post-intervention anxiety, four analyses of covariance were conducted, adjusting for age, sex, and pre-intervention anxiety. Results: A total of 144 participants (65.3% girls; Mage = 7.5 ± 1.2; 50% per condition) enrolled in the study. There were no differences in demographics or baseline anxiety between the two conditions (ps >.05). Participants reported that it was easy to breathe during the sessions (Ms = 4.1–4.7, SDs = 0.5–1.1). For all but the first session, participants reported being more relaxed after the breathing session than before (ps <.003). Post-intervention, participants in the intervention reported fewer anxiety symptoms compared to participants in the control condition (ps <.01). Conclusion: A guided paced breathing audiovisual intervention was feasible and had a significant positive impact on anxiety symptoms in Palestinian children compared to a control condition. Future research should examine whether the audiovisual guided breathing intervention significantly improves long-term outcomes.
KW - RCT design
KW - School children
KW - anxiety
KW - intervention
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85145302047&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/camh.12613
DO - 10.1111/camh.12613
M3 - Article
C2 - 36575823
AN - SCOPUS:85145302047
SN - 1475-357X
VL - 28
SP - 473
EP - 480
JO - Child and Adolescent Mental Health
JF - Child and Adolescent Mental Health
IS - 4
ER -