Determining the impact of the NLP4Kids© NLP programme on symptoms of anxiety and depression in child

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Determining the impact of the NLP4Kids© NLP programme on symptoms of anxiety and depression in children as measured by the Revised Children’s Anxiety and Depression Scale.

Introduction

The World Health Organisation (WHO) define mental health as a state of “well-being in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community”1 Despite the importance of positive mental health being well established, recent emerging data suggests a deterioration in mental health amongst children Specifically, anxiety and depressive disorders have become more common amongst 5 to 15-year olds with rates increasing from 3.9% in 2004 to 5.8% in 20172. In order to combat this, the NLP4Kids© franchise was established to deliver a series of classes on mental wellbeing which are catered for children and young people3. Each class targets a different element of mental health and is embedded with neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) methodology. Although NLP4Kids© has collated anecdotal data to suggest an improvement in children’s mental health, they have yet to collate any quantitative data to reinforce this claim. Therefore, a research study was designed to determine the impact, if any, of the NLP4Kids© programme on metrics of children’s anxiety and depression using a validated research questionnaire.

Methods

A prospective questionnaire-based study was designed. Children enrolled onto the NLP4Kids© programme would be asked to complete the 25-item Revised Children’s Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS) short form survey prior to and following completion of the NLP4Kids© programme; the 25item RCADS has been shown to be a robust scoring tool for symptoms of childhood anxiety and depression4 A two-tailed paired t-test analysis was then used to determine if there was any statistically different, defined as a p value <0.05, between pre and post intervention 25-item RCADS anxiety and depression symptom scores.

Results

13 participants were identified for inclusion in the final study 1 student being excluded due to incomplete data. Of the 13 included, 8 (62%) were male and 5 (38%) were female. The breakdown of students per year group is shown in Figure 1. Of the 25 domains within the RCADS questionnaire, the NLP4Kids© intervention lead to a reduction in the mean score in 20 of the 25 domains (80%) assessing severity of anxiety and depression symptoms (Figure 2). When comparing the difference in average symptom scores as per the 25-item RCADS score, there was a statistically significant reduction in the severity of symptoms in the anxiety, depression and anxiety and depression domains following the NLP4Kids© intervention (Table 1) (Figure 3).

Discussion

Based upon the pilot data collected, there is an evidently significant positive impact of the NLP4Kids© NLP programme in reducing the symptoms of anxiety and depression as per the 25-item RCADS score. Further studies are needed utilising larger data sets and a control comparison group to further delineate the impacts of the NLP4Kids© programme. Additional studies identifying the impact of the NLP4Kids© on additional metrics of mental health would be of interest and are warranted.

References

1. https://www.who.int/features/factfiles/mental_health/en/

2. https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-ofchildren-and-young-people-in-england/2017/2017

3. https://nlp4kids.org/

4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28475961

Figure 1 – Number of Students Per Year Group

Number of Students Per Year Group

2 7 4 0 2 4 6 8 10 3 4 5 Number of
Year Group
Students

*denotes statistically significant differences

RCADS-25 Question Average Score Pre-Intervention Post-Intervention feel sad or empty 1.3 0.8 worry when done poorly 1.6 1.7 afraid of being on own at home 1.8 0.9 nothing is much fun anymore 0.8 0.5 worry that something will happen to my family 1.9 1.7 afraid of being in crowded places 2 1.8 worry what other people think of me 1.4 1 have trouble sleeping 0.8 1 feel scared if I have to sleep on my own 1.2 0.7 have problems with my appetite 1.6 1.2 suddenly become dizzy or faint 1.2 0.7 have to do some things over and over again 1.3 1 have no energy for things 1.5 1.4 suddenly start to tremble or shake 1.5 1.5 cannot think clearly 1.5 1.2 feel worthless 1.5 1.2 have to think of special thoughts 1.5 0.8 think about death 1.5 1.2 feel like I don't want to move 1.4 0.8 worry that I will suddenly get a scared feeling 1.2 0.8 am tired a lot 1.2 1.5 afraid that I will make a fool of myself 1.6 1.2 have to do some things in just the right way 1.4 1.5 feel restless 1.5 1.2 worry that something bad will happen to me 1.8 1.5
Figure 2 – Difference in the Mean Score Per 25-Item RCADS-25 Questionnaire. Rows highlighted in yellow indicate a reduction in the average score.
Anxiety and Depression Symptom
Scale Mean Score (+/- Standard Deviation) P-Value Pre Post Depression 13.8 (±4.36) 9.85 (±5.57) 0.0257* Anxiety 24.8 (±10.2) 17 (±8.49) 0.0008* Anxiety and Depression 38.5 (±13.9) 26.8 (±13) 0.0018*
Table 1 – Comparison in the Mean (Standard Deviation) 25-Item RCADS Anxiety, Depression and Score both Pre and Post NLP4Kids© Intervention.
Figure 3 – Difference in the Mean Score Per 25-Item RCADS-25 Questionnaire Pre and Post Intervention. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Depression Anxiety Anxiety and Depression 25Item RCADS Symptom Score Pre and Post Intervention Comparison in the Mean RCADS25 Symptom Scores Baseline Post NLP4Kids Intervention

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