Anxiety Among Children: Adaptation and Effectiveness of the Program Super Skills for Life in School Settings

NCT07162402 | Completed DMC

• 1 other identifier: FJWU/EC/2021/32
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 126
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Super Skills for Life (SSL) is a transdiagnostic prevention program designed for children with anxiety and depressive symptoms based on cognitive-behavioral therapy. This study is a Cluster Randomization Trial(cRCT) to determine the of the effectiveness of the SSL program to reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms along with improving self-esteem, social skills and overall quality of life in a sample of 126, 5th grade children recruited from 6 schools from Pakistan. Schools were the unit of randomization and were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions; intervention group (SSL) and waiting list control (WLC) group. Assessments were conducted before and after the 8 sessions of intervention and follow-up assessment after 6 months.

Conditions

Childhood Anxiety; Childhood Depression; Low Self-Esteem; Quality of Life (QOL); Social Skills; Emotional Problems; Behavioral Problems

Keywords

Anxiety and depressive symptoms, Pakistani Children, Super Skills for Life, Social skills, Quality of life

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED)

  Psychometric tool for Anxiety Measurement

  Immediately after Intervention and Followup after 6 months

• The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC)

  Psychometric Tool for the measurement of Depression

  Immediately post intervention and after 6 months

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• The Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)

  Immediately post intervention and after 6 months

• Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES)

  Immediately after intervention and after 6 months

• Social Skills Questionnaire (SSQ)

  immediately after intervention and after 6 months

• Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL)

  immediately after intervention and after 6 months

Study Arms (2)

Intervention Group

EXPERIMENTAL

In the intervention arm, 8 sessions Super Skills for Life (SSL), were delivered to students who were screened positive for anxiety symptoms

Other: Super Skills for Life (SSL) Program

Wait-List Control Group

OTHER

Wait-list control group participants were not provided with intervention, they remained as usual with routine activities by teachers

Other: No Active Intervention

Interventions

Super Skills for Life (SSL) Program OTHER

Its Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) Based 8 sessions Super Skills for Life (SSL) Program for childhood Anxiety Management.

Intervention Group

No Active Intervention OTHER

Routine Activities in Class

Wait-List Control Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 9 Years - 13 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may not qualify if:

• Children who have any serious physical/medical diseases, diagnosed mental health issues, developmental delays, or learning difficulties, and are under any psychological treatment were excluded. Furthermore, children who had undergone any surgery or experienced serious traumatic events in the past 6 months and who did not get permission from their parents with written informed consent from parents/ not willing to were also excluded.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Fatima Jinnah Women University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Fatima Jinnah Women University

Rawalpindi, Punjab Province, 44000, Pakistan

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Social Skills; Problem Behavior; Anxiety Disorders; Depression

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Social Behavior; Behavior; Behavioral Symptoms; Child Behavior; Mental Disorders

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: FACTORIAL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Clinical Psychologist

Model Details: In the intervention arm, 8 sessions Super Skills for Life (SSL), were delivered to students who were screened positive for anxiety symptoms. Whereas Wait-list control group participants were not provided with intervention, they remained as usual with routine activities by teachers.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 31, 2025
• First Posted: September 9, 2025
• Study Start: September 16, 2021
• Primary Completion: September 16, 2021
• Study Completion: September 16, 2021
• Last Updated: September 9, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-08

Locations

PA (1)