Two recent experimental studies provide support for SSRI's effectiveness in reducing anxiety. In one study on the use of fluvoxamine (another SSRI) to treat anxiety disorders in children and adolescents (The Research Unit on Pediatric Psychopharmacology Anxiety Study Group, 2001), 128 children and youth between six and 17 years of age who met criteria for social phobia, separation anxiety disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder were randomly assigned either to a fluvoxamine (a SSRI) or placebo group for an eight-week period. Both of these groups received psychotherapy for three weeks prior to the study with no effect. The fluvoxamine group had a significant mean decrease on the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale. Also, 48 of 65 youth in the experimental group responded to treatment as evidenced by the Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement Scale as compared to just 19 of 65 in the placebo group. In short, the fluvoxamine group had a significant reduction in anxiety symptoms compared to the placebo group. A much smaller double-blind randomized study compared a different SSRI, sertraline, to a placebo in 22 youth between the ages of five and 17 (Rynn, Sieuqeland & Rickels, 2001). The participants had been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. The researchers found that sertraline, given as a 50mg dose/day resulted in significant decreases in anxious symptoms compared to the placebo group. They found no significant side-effects.