Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been shown to be an efficacious treatment for youth anxiety, but we need to know more about the process of change. Affective network variability, or the “spread” of positive and negative emotions activated across a given time period, has been found to be positively associated with anxiety disorder symptomatology, but it is not yet known how this construct changes in response to intervention or its association with anxiety-focused treatment outcomes. The present study used a dynamical systems framework to model ecological momentary assessment (EMA) data collected via a cellular telephone from 114 youth aged 9–14 years (M_age = 10.94, SD = 1.46) who were seeking treatment for a primary anxiety disorder. We examined patterns of affective network variability over time and across (a) CBT and (b) client-centered therapy (CCT) to determine whether affective network changes were specific to CBT or due to nonspecific factors. Associations between treatment outcomes and patterns of affect at pretreatment and over the course of the treatments were also examined. Results revealed significant decreases in affective network variability over the course of treatment for youth who received CBT, but not for youth who received CCT. Changes in affective network variability over the course of treatment did not predict treatment outcomes. Findings provide initial support for the dynamical systems approach to examining changes that occur during treatment. Implications and future research are discussed.

认知行为疗法（CBT）已被证明是治疗青少年焦虑的有效方法，但我们需要更多地了解改变的过程。已发现情感网络变异性或在给定时间段内激活的积极和消极情绪的“传播”与焦虑症症状呈正相关，但尚不清楚这种结构如何响应干预或其关联而变化以焦虑为中心的治疗结果。本研究使用动态系统框架对通过手机收集的 114 名 9-14 岁青年（M_年龄 = 10.94，SD ）的生态瞬时评估 (EMA) 数据进行建模 = 1.46）谁正在寻求治疗原发性焦虑症。我们检查了情感网络随时间变化的模式以及（a）CBT 和（b）以客户为中心的治疗（CCT）的模式，以确定情感网络的变化是特定于 CBT 还是由于非特异性因素。还检查了治疗结果与治疗前和治疗过程中的影响模式之间的关联。结果显示，接受 CBT 的青少年在治疗过程中的情感网络变异性显着降低，但接受 CCT 的青少年则没有。治疗过程中情感网络变异性的变化并不能预测治疗结果。研究结果为动态系统方法检查治疗期间发生的变化提供了初步支持。