Halfon, S;
Beşiroğlu, B;
Bulut, P;
Epözdemir, Ş;
Aydın, G;
Koç, HB;
Sözüer, B;
... Midgley, N; + view all
(2024)
The Efficacy of Mentalization-Based Treatment for Children With Internalizing and Externalizing Problems: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
10.1016/j.jaac.2024.12.006.
(In press).
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Midgley_The Efficacy of Mentalization-Based Treatment for Children With Internalizing and Externalizing Problems_AAM.pdf - Accepted Version Access restricted to UCL open access staff until 25 December 2025. Download (436kB) |
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: High comorbidity in childhood emotional and behavioral disorders calls for transdiagnostic interventions that can address both internalizing and externalizing problems. Mentalization-Based Treatment for Children (MBT-C) is a transdiagnostic, time-limited individual child psychotherapy with parallel parent sessions that aims to promote mentalization and emotion regulation. This pragmatic randomized controlled superiority trial investigated the efficacy of MBT-C compared with a group-based parenting and child social skills intervention (PSSG) at 12 weeks (primary end point) and 36-week follow-up (secondary end point). METHOD: There were no statistically significant differences between MBT-C and PSSG in reducing children’s total, internalizing, or externalizing problems at 12 weeks; however, MBT-C was superior at 36 weeks on total problems with a small effect (d = 0.479, 95% CI [0.105, 0.854]). MBT-C was also superior in improving emotion regulation of parents (d = 0.248, 95% CI [0.002, 0.493]) and children (d = −0.221, 95% CI [−0.435, −0.006]) and child-reported problems (d = 0.331, 95% CI [0.029, 0.633]) at 12 weeks with small effects. These differential treatment effects were maintained during follow-up. CONCLUSION: MBT-C demonstrated a small superior effect to PSSG in treating overall problems over the longer term, but not immediately after the intervention, in school-age children with internalizing and externalizing problems. However, as a single-site study, generalizability is limited, and further research supporting treatment efficacy is warranted. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: The Effectiveness and Change Mechanisms of Mentalization Based Therapy for Children (MBT-C); NCT05290714; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05290714.
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