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Jerome Kagan's classic studies of preschool children identified a “behavioral inhibition to the unfamiliar” temperament that was a risk factor for later anxiety disorders (e.g., J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 1992; 31:103). To learn whether an intervention in preschool for inhibited children affects anxiety diagnoses 3 years later, researchers conducted a randomized, controlled trial involving families with preschoolers aged 3 to 5 years who had social withdrawal behaviors by parental report and clinical observation (e.g., verbal and motoric responses to interviewers and novel toys).
The intervention consisted of six parent-education group sessions on disorder characteristics, parental management, exposure, and cognitive restructuring; c…