The use of waitlists as control conditions in anxiety disorders research

Abstract Current evidence suggests that the strength of the psychological control condition greatly impacts treatment outcomes. Psychological controls can be grouped into three general classes: no-treatment or waitlist (delayed treatment), attention placebo or the best available treatment comparison...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of psychiatric research 2016-12, Vol.83, p.112-120
Main Authors: Patterson, Beth, Boyle, Michael H, Kivlenieks, Michelle, Van Ameringen, Michael
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety disorders
Anxiety Disorders - psychology
Anxiety Disorders - therapy
Biomedical Research
Humans
Methodology
Placebo control
Psychiatry
Psychological control
Psychotherapy - methods
Treatment Outcome
Trial design
Waiting Lists
Waitlist
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract Current evidence suggests that the strength of the psychological control condition greatly impacts treatment outcomes. Psychological controls can be grouped into three general classes: no-treatment or waitlist (delayed treatment), attention placebo or the best available treatment comparison. Of these three, the use of the waitlist condition is the most common and is used in up to 73% of published psychological treatment studies. Many psychological interventions are in use today based on the efficacy demonstrated in waitlist controlled trials. In the field of anxiety disorders, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is considered a first-line treatment. Meta-analyses in anxiety disorders have revealed that effect sizes for CBT compared to waitlist controls are much higher than those found using psychological placebos as comparators. Furthermore, waitlists have been associated with deleterious effects and have been described as “no-cebos” in related conditions such as major depressive disorder. Despite these findings, the use of waitlist controls continues to be a mainstay in the psychological anxiety disorders literature. The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of waitlists with a focus on the anxiety disorders. Methodological and ethical issues associated with waitlist controls will be explored, as well the use of alternative psychological placebos.
ISSN:0022-3956
1879-1379
DOI:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2016.08.015