«Ο Αγχόσαυρος»: ένα ψυχοεκπαιδευτικό πρόγραμμα για τη διαχείριση του άγχους σε παιδιά. Κατασκευή και πιλοτική έρευνα

The purpose of this study was to plan and to properly adapt basic cognitive and behavioural techniques for coping with anxiety so as to become suitable for children education. Within this context we developed a psychoeducational programme, suitable for children age 6-12, named Anxioussaure. The programme was developed and delivered by a psychologist under supervision, in the Laboratory of Developmental Psychology and Psychopathology of the University of Thessaly. The pilot study was based on 40 children of 4th grade of Elementary School (age 10). The effectiveness of the programme implementation was evaluated according to anxiety and depression measures. Preliminary results showed that Anxioussaure is a comprehensive, user friendly and funny programme, which efficiently helps children to understand and to use the cognitive-behavioural model of anxiety, namely the way that the thoughts, emotions, behaviours and bodily reactions are interconnected in the symptoms of anxiety. According to effect sizes, there is aconsiderable decrease in the symptoms of anxiety and depression, according to children’s as well as to their mothers’ observations. Our primary conclusion is that Anxioussaure can be a useful and effective tool for children psycheducation on anxiety according to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy model, although its effectiveness needs to be studied further by randomized control studies.