Thesis (MSc (Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Anxiety symptoms seem highly prevalent amongst South African children, as recent studies indicate. Even though early intervention and prevention is advocated, an effective prevention- and early intervention programme for childhood anxiety is lacking for the South African context. Therefore, the present study was motivated from the need for an effective anxiety prevention- and early intervention programme for use with South African children. Thus the primary aim of the present study was to determine whether the Australian FRIENDS programme could effectively reduce the anxiety symptoms in a sample of South African children. In addition, literature also suggests self-efficacy to have a unique contribution in the etiology of anxiety. The question has also been raised in literature whether the effectiveness of childhood anxiety interventions cannot be ascribed to the enhancement of self-efficacy for dealing with feared stimuli. Thus, as a sub-aim the study explored whether the FRIENDS programme could effectively enhance the self-efficacy of the sample. Hence, for the present pilot study, a programme evaluation was conducted into the effectiveness of the FRIENDS programme, a prevention- and early intervention programme for childhood anxiety.