Psychological treatment of late-life anxiety: an empirical review

J Consult Clin Psychol. 2003 Aug;71(4):643-51. doi: 10.1037/0022-006x.71.4.643.

Abstract

This study provides a meta-analytic review of nonpharmacological interventions for late-life anxiety, focusing on treatment efficacy. Included in the analysis are studies in which a comparison was made either to a control condition or to another treatment. A total of 15 outcome studies, published or reported between January 1975 and January 2002, were identified involving 495 participants (mean age exceeding 55.0 years and a grand mean of 69.5 years) and providing 20 separate treatment interventions. The analysis indicated that psychological interventions were reliably more effective than no treatment on self-rated and clinician-rated measures of anxiety, yielding an effect size of .55. Maintenance of treatment gains (a minimum of 6 months follow-up) was insufficiently reported across studies to allow for a reliable demonstration of an overall estimate of long-term efficacy. It is concluded that psychological interventions produce significant improvements, but the analyses must be qualified by data limitations in the research synthesis.

Publication types

  • Meta-Analysis
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Anxiety Disorders / psychology
  • Anxiety Disorders / therapy*
  • Empirical Research
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Psychotherapy / methods*