Integrating Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Practices Within an Evidence-Based Reading Intervention to Reduce Childhood Anxiety and Improve Reading Outcomes

This chapter describes a novel approach to improving reading outcomes and anxiety management skills of struggling readers in the upper elementary grades and reports findings from two experimental studies recently conducted in schools. The reading and anxiety management intervention was developed to integrate effective practices for reducing child anxiety within a reading intervention for upper elementary students with significant reading difficulties. Grounded in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) theory, the evidence-based anxiety management practices teach students approaches to managing anxiety and engages students in applying these practices during reading activities. Two randomized control trials with nonoverlapping samples of students in Grades 3 through 5 were conducted to determine the effects of a reading intervention with and without anxiety management instruction relative to a business-as-usual comparison condition on reading and anxiety outcomes. Findings reveal significant differences in favor of the students who received the reading and anxiety management instruction on anxiety outcomes, particularly for students with elevated levels of anxiety at pretest. There were few differences in reading outcomes between students who received the reading and anxiety management instruction and students who received only reading instruction. Overall findings underscore the promise of embedding evidence-based, cognitive-behavioral therapy practices for improving anxiety management within reading interventions. We propose directions for future research that might expand our understanding of effective CBT interventions in school settings.