Kennedy, S. M., Tonarely, N. A., Sherman, J. A., & Ehrenreich-May, J. (2018). Predictors of treatment outcome for the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Children (UP-C). Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 57, 66–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2018.05.004

Type of Study: Other quasi-experimental
Number of Participants: 79

Population:

• Age — 6–13 years (Mean=9.47 years)
• Race/Ethnicity — 57% White Hispanic, 30% White Non-Hispanic, 8% Other, 3% Black or African American, and 2% Asian or Pacific Islander
• Gender — 53% Female
• Status — Participants were children with a primary anxiety diagnosis (with or without comorbid depression).

Location/Institution: Not specified

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to investigate potential predictors of outcome following administration of the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Children (UP-C). Participants were enrolled in one of three UP-C group treatments: an open trial, a randomized controlled trial, or a naturalistic UP-C group treatment. Measures utilized include the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for the DSM-IV-Child and Parent Reports (ADIS-IV-C/P), the Clinician Global Impression-Severity Scale (CGI-S), the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders—Child and Parent Reports (SCARED), the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales (DASS), and the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ). Results indicate that consistent with prior literature on CBT for anxiety, social anxiety emerged as a consistent predictor of poorer response to the UP-C. Inconsistent with prior literature, depression, symptom severity, parent psychopathology, and child age were not significant predictors of poor outcome. Limitations include a relatively small sample size primarily consisting of anxious children, the exploratory nature of the study, and length of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: Within 4 weeks of completing the intervention.

Ebrahimi, L. S., Isfeedvajani, M. S., Mohammadi, A., Ghasemzadeh, S., Arani, A. M., & Saadat, S. H. (2019). Comparison of the effectiveness of Unified Transdiagnostic Therapy (UP-C) with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) on depression anxiety symptoms in child workers: “Child labour.” Journal of Research in Medical and Dental Science, 7(2), 122–130. https://eprints.bmsu.ac.ir/2824/

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 45

Population:

• Age — 8–11 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Not specified
• Gender — 100% Female
• Status — Participants were child workers with a principal anxiety disorder and depression.

Location/Institution: Tehran, Iran

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to investigate the efficacy and rationale of the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders for Children (UP-C) for providing a transdiagnostic based therapeutic strategy as a comparison with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: UP-C, CBT, or a control group that did not receive any formal intervention. Measures utilized include the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia, lifetime version (K-SADS-PL) and the Revised Children’s Anxiety and Depression Scale (R-CADS). Results indicate that the effect of kind of group on depression anxiety was remarkably significant, depression and anxiety were changed significantly in different stages of pretreatment, posttreatment, and follow-up. Moreover, a significant difference was found between the pretreatment and the posttreatment in the CBT and UP-C group. Additionally, the results indicate the decreasing trend of depression anxiety in the two intervention groups (CBT and UP-C). The decrease in both depression anxieties in the UP-C group were found to be greater when comparing with the CBT group, but these trends were significantly greater in UP-C group. Limitations include small sample size, length of follow-up, and high attrition rate.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 3 months.

Kennedy, S. M., Bilek, E. L., & Ehrenreich-May, J. (2019). A randomized controlled pilot trial of the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Children. Behavior Modification, 43(3), 330–360. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145445517753940

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 47

Population:

• Age — 6–12 years (Mean=9.31 years)
• Race/Ethnicity — 57% White Hispanic, 36% White Non-Hispanic, 2% Asian or Pacific Islander, 2% Black or African American, and 2% Other
• Gender — 55% Female
• Status — Participants were children with at least one primary anxiety disorder.

Location/Institution: Not specified

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to collect data on the efficacy of the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Children (UP-C), comparing UP-C with an active, anxiety-focused intervention. Participants were randomly assigned to UP-C or the other anxiety-focused control treatment (Cool Kids—CK). Measures utilized include the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for the DSM-IV–Child and Parent Reports ADIS-IV-C/P, the Clinician Global Impression–Improvement Scale (CGI-I), the Screen for Child Anxiety-Related Emotional Disorders–Child and Parent Reports (SCARED), the Children’s Depression Inventory–Child and Parent Reports (CDI), the Children’s Emotion Management Scales (CEMS), and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (ERQ-CA). Results indicate that no condition-related differences were found with respect to diagnostic remission and anxiety symptoms. However, differences in favor of UP-C were observed with respect to treatment response at follow-up, depression symptoms, sadness dysregulation, and cognitive reappraisal. Limitations include small sample size, significant drop-off at follow-up, most measures were confined to rating scales, and possible allegiance effects.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 6 months.

Alaee, E. Q., Saed, O., Khakpoor, S., Ahmadi, R., Mohammadi, M. A., Afrashteh, M. Y., & Morovati, Z. (2022). The efficacy of Transdiagnostic Cognitive Behavioural Therapy on reducing negative affect, anxiety sensitivity and improving perceived control in children with emotional disorders—A randomized controlled trial. Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome, 25(1), 127–144. https://doi.org/10.4081/ripppo.2022.588

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 40

Population:

• Age — UP-C: Mean=10.22 years; Control: Mean=10.13 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Not specified
• Gender — UP-C: 78% Female and 22% Male; Control: 56% Female and 44% Male
• Status — Participants were children with emotional disorders.

Location/Institution: Not specified

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to investigate the efficacy of the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Children (UP-C) on negative affect, anxiety sensitivity and perceived control in children with emotional disorders. Participants were randomized to UP-C or to a no-treatment control group. Measures utilized include the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-IV – Child and Parent Version (ADIS-IV-C/P), Revised Children’s Anxiety and Depression Scale – Parent Report, Child Symptom Inventory, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule-short form for Children-Negative Affect, Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index, and the Anxiety Control Questionnaire – Child Version. Results indicate that following UP-C, negative affect and anxiety sensitivity were significantly reduced, and perceived control was significantly improved. The results remained relatively constant during the follow-ups. Limitations include small sample size, concerns over generalizability due to limited variety of disorders, and lack of active treatment for the control group, which was at first intended to be waitlist control, but due to lack of facilities, the control group received no treatment.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 3 and 8 months.

Ahadianfard, P., Gharraee, B., Aghebati, A., & Asgarabad, M. H. (2023). Effectiveness of Unified Protocol for Trans Diagnostic Treatment in children with anxiety disorders: A randomized control trial. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 12, Article 387. https://doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_1578_22

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 34

Population:

• Age — 8–12 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Not specified
• Gender — 57% Male and 43% Female
• Status — Participants were children from a psychiatry health center diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and receiving medication in the case of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Location/Institution: Tehran, Iran

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to investigate the efficacy of the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Children (UP-C) in treating children’s anxiety disorders compared to cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). Participants were randomized to either UP-C or CBT based on the Coping Cat program. Measures utilized include the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia Present and Lifetime Version (K SADS PL), the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (ERQ CA), and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED 71). Results indicate that based on the repeated measures ANOVA, UP-C and CBT significantly reduced anxiety symptoms and emotional suppression. Moreover, UP-C and CBT significantly increased emotion regulation and cognitive reappraisal. Limitations include a small sample size, and determining whether the importance of predictors changes over time or if new predictors arise might be advantageous with a longer term follow up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 3 months.