BACKGROUND: Pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a debilitating psychological anxiety disorder. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has been shown to be an effective therapy for OCD, but the evaluation results from various studies are inconsistent and incomprehensive. This meta-analysis examined the efficacy of CBT in treatment of OCD.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A literature search identified 13 studies that met the inclusion criteria. The efficacy of CBT on OCD was evaluated by comparing post-treatment and pre-treatment Children’s Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) scores. Weighted mean difference (WMD) was generated for the statistical evaluation. Heterogeneity was evaluated by I2 index.

RESULTS: A decrease in WMD and a statistical significance (p<0.0001) in both CY-BOCS and CGI scores between pre- and post-CBT treatment were observed in both overall database (–11.73) and USA subgroup (–11.371), which indicates a dramatic relief of OCD symptoms after CBT treatment. Heterogeneity was detected in overall database and USA subgroup, which resulted in an application of the random-effects model to both groups. Publication bias was examined by both Begg’s funnel plot and Egger’s test and no publication bias was detected.

CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that CBT is efficacious in treating children’s OCD.

Keywords: Child, Adolescent, Child, Preschool, Cognitive Therapy - standards, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - therapy