Characteristics of anxious and depressed youth seen in two different clinical contexts.

Previous research has revealed that youth seen at community clinics present with a higher frequency of externalizing problems and are demographically different from youth seen at research clinics. This study extends findings on these discrepancies by examining differences between youth at research and community clinics meeting criteria for two different primary disorders (anxiety and depression). Consistent with prior research, community clinic youth reported lower incomes, were more ethnically diverse, and had higher rates of externalizing problems compared to research clinic youth, regardless of primary diagnosis. Findings are discussed in terms of enhancing dissemination of evidence-based treatments for internalizing disorders in community settings.

Development of a Unified Protocol for the Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Youth.

This paper reviews the development and initial trial of a treatment for adolescents that targets negative emotionality and associated psychological difficulties, particularly anxiety and depressive disorders, as a more singular entity by utilizing an approach rooted in both emotion science and theory. The rationale for such an approach is based upon the perceived need for novel treatment approaches that target commonalities in emotional disorder symptom presentation and their intervention. Utilizing the Unified Protocol for the Treatment of Emotional Disorders originally developed for adults (Barlow, Allen & Choate, 2004), we conducted a multiple-baseline design study of a slightly modified version of this protocol with three adolescents presenting an array of anxiety and depression symptoms. Adolescent participants in this preliminary investigation evidenced symptom reductions across disorders at post-treatment, with greater improvements noted at a six-month follow-up. Based on these findings and research regarding the association between emotion science and developmental psychopathology, we detail a more extensive set of modifications to the protocol, undertaken in preparation for a subsequent open-trial investigation of the revised treatment.