Treatment of generalized anxiety disorder in older adults.

Wetherell, Julie Loebach, Gatz, Margaret, Craske, Michelle G.·2003·Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology

Abstract

Older adults with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD; N = 75; M age = 67.1 years) were randomly assigned to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), a discussion group (DG) organized around worry-provoking topics, or a waiting period. Participants in both active conditions improved relative to the waiting list. Although CBT participants improved on more measures than DG participants, the authors found only I significant difference immediately after treatment and no differences at 6-month follow-up. Effect sizes were smaller than in younger samples, but CBT showed large effects and DG showed medium-sized effects Overall, results indicate that brief treatment of late-life GAD is beneficial, but they provide only limited support for the superiority of CBT to a credible comparison intervention.

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  2. Canadian clinical practice guidelines for the management of anxiety, posttraumatic stress and obsessive-compulsive disorders
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  3. World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) Guidelines for the Pharmacological Treatment of Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders – First Revision
    Bandelow, Borwin, Zohar, Joseph, Hollander, Eric, Kasper, Siegfried, Möller, Hans-Jürgen, WFSBP TASK FORCE ON TREATMENT GUIDE, Bandelow, Borwin, Zohar, Joseph, Hollander, Eric, Kasper, Siegfried et al. · 2008 · The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry
  4. Anxiety disorders in older adults: a comprehensive review
    Wolitzky-Taylor, Kate B., Castriotta, Natalie, Lenze, Eric J., Stanley, Melinda A., Craske, Michelle G. · 2010 · Depression and Anxiety
  5. A Meta-Analytic Review of Adult Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Outcome Across the Anxiety Disorders
    Norton, Peter J., Price, Esther C. · 2007 · Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease

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Cite CoChat for the checks on this page, and the paper for its own findings.

This page
CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Treatment of generalized anxiety disorder in older adults. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1037//0022-006x.71.1.31
The paper
Wetherell, J. L., Gatz, M., & Craske, M. G. (2003). Treatment of generalized anxiety disorder in older adults. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-006x.71.1.31

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