Use of evidence-based assessment for childhood anxiety disorders in community practice.

ABSTRACT

High-quality assessment is essential to the delivery of effective treatment for childhood anxiety disorders. However, relatively little is known about how frequently child clinicians utilize evidence-based assessment (EBA) techniques in practice, and even less is known about the factors that influence EBA use in such settings. Thus, the current study presents data from a survey of 339 clinicians from a variety of professional backgrounds concerning their use of EBA for childhood anxiety disorders and explores issues preventing EBA implementation. Results indicated infrequent EBA use with clinicians citing practical barriers (i.e., time, access, knowledge, cost) and negative beliefs about EBA techniques (i.e., unhelpful) as issues preventing implementation. Implications for future EBA dissemination and implementation efforts are discussed.