ABSTRACT
Behavioral disorders represent one of the most frequent mental disorders in children and adolescents. Even though psychodynamic psychotherapies are often used to treat behavioral disorders, to date, its efficacy has rarely been empirically evaluated. The aim of the study therefore was to evaluate psychodynamic short-term psychotherapy (PSTP) for children and adolescents with behavioral disorders. By means of a waiting-list controlled study, 26 children and adolescents fulfilling diagnosis of behavioral disorders were examined. The treatment group received 25 sessions of psychodynamic psychotherapy. Primary criterion of outcome was the Impairment-Score for Children and Adolescents (IS-CA). Furthermore, the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Psychic and Social-Communicative Findings Sheet for Children and Adolescents (PSCFS-CA) were administered at the beginning and end of the treatment. The statistical as well as the clinical significance of changes during treatment were analysed. It could be shown, that the treatment group improved significantly more in the Impairment-Score for children and adolescents (IS-CA) compared to the waiting group. The effect size of the IS-CA total score was 0,6. 31% of the children in the treatment group improved clinically significantly or according to the criterion of Reliable Change, whereas that was the case only for 8 % of the subject in the waiting list condition. A significant advantage was found for the therapy group in the PSCFS-CA. Effect sizes were between 0.8 and 1.4. In the CBCL significant improvement could be shown for the treatment and control group however only with small effects. These results substantiate that psychodynamic short-term psychotherapy (PSTP) is an effective intervention for children and adolescents with behavioral disorders. However, the findings also show that some of the children and adolescents are in need of a more intensive or long-term treatment.
