Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Skills in Children: The Role of Executive Function, Empathy and Theory of Mind.
Year: 2013
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: ABSTRACT \nBackground and Research Aims \nCognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) has become an increasingly popular frontline \ntreatment in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Benjamin et al., 2011) \nand treatment efficacy with children has received significant empirical attention (Graham \n& Reynolds, 2013). The adaptation of CBT for children has led to the development of \ntasks intended to assess core CBT skills (such as distinguishing between and linking \nthoughts, feelings and behaviours, Quakley, 2002). The aim of this study is to explore the \nrelationship between three developmental modalities (executive functioning, empathy \nand theory of mind) and performance on tasks assessing CBT skill. The developmental \nmodalities were hypothesised to be related to both the demands placed on children by the \nCBT skills tasks, and to children’s ability to engage in CBT. \nMethod \nA quasi-experimental correlational design was employed. Eighty-eight normally \ndeveloping children between five and eight years old were assessed. Individual \nassessment with each child included three measures of CBT skill (Quakley, 2002), the \nTower of London assessment (Shallice, 1982), age appropriate first and second order \ntheory of mind tasks (Liddle and Nettle, 2006) and a brief measure of IQ (Wechsler, \n1999; 2003). In addition one parent of each child was asked to provide parent-report data \non their child. This included measures assessing empathy, executive functioning and \ntheir child’s overall strengths and weaknesses. \nii \nResults \nInitial exploration of potential confounding variables identified significant effects of age and general intelligence on performance on the both CBT skills tasks and measures of executive functioning, empathy and theory of mind. Through investigation of the research hypotheses, small but significant findings were identified between superior performance on the CBT skills tasks and higher child assessed executive functioning and theory of mind ability. However these results were not maintained when age and IQ were controlled for. No significant relationships were identified between performance of the CBT skills tasks and parent-rated executive functioning or empathy. \nConclusions \nThe results of this study suggest that children’s ability to demonstrate CBT skill is not related to executive functioning, empathy or theory of mind, however CBT skill was significantly influenced by children’s age and IQ. A number of methodological considerations are discussed that suggest that these findings should be interpreted cautiously. Future research should seek to address identified methodological limitations and investigate the validity of the CBT skills tasks employed.
Author: Amy Carroll
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W599730481