OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a school-based group 
cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) for anxiety disorders with African-American 
adolescents.
METHOD: Twelve adolescents (mean age = 15.6 years) with anxiety disorders were 
randomly assigned to CBT (n = 6) or a group attention-support control condition 
(AS-Control; n = 6). Both groups met for 10 sessions in the same high school. 
Key treatment ingredients in CBT involved exposure, relaxation, social skills, 
and cognitive restructuring. Key ingredients in AS-Control involved therapist 
and peer support. At pre- and posttreatment, diagnostic interviews were 
conducted, and adolescents completed self-report measures of anxiety.
RESULTS: At posttreatment and among those who attended more than one treatment 
session, 3/4 adolescents in CBT no longer met diagnostic criteria for their 
primary anxiety disorder, compared with 1/5 in AS-Control. Clinician ratings of 
impairment and self-report levels of overall anxiety were significantly lower at 
posttreatment in CBT compared with AS-Control. Teenagers in both groups reported 
lower levels of social anxiety from pre- to posttreatment.
CONCLUSIONS: Findings support the feasibility of implementing a manual-based CBT 
in an urban school setting. Responder rates among African-American adolescents 
were similar to those found in studies with white youths.