Attention Bias Modification Treatment in Social Anxiety: Avoidance or Exposure to Threatening Faces? The Role of Pre-existing Attentional Biases and State Anxiety
Overview
- Phase
- N/A
- Intervention
- Not specified
- Conditions
- Social Anxiety
- Sponsor
- University of Cyprus
- Enrollment
- 140
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Social Anxiety changes
- Status
- Completed
- Last Updated
- 7 years ago
Overview
Brief Summary
This study evaluates attention modification in social anxiety and It is comprised by 2 experiments. At experiment 1 socially anxious participants will receive either training away from threatening faces or placebo intervention and at experiment 2 they will receive either one of these 2 groups or training towards threatening faces. At experiment 2 training will be done under state anxiety levels (video-recording of a speech). Anxiety levels (self-reports, physiological and behavioral measures) as well as attentional biases changes will be examined at pre and post - intervention levels plus 6 months follow-up only for experiment 1.
Detailed Description
Social anxiety is a highly prevalent disorder in the population. Even though there are effective interventions that can help people who suffer from it, many of them do not seek or receive an evidence-based, face to face treatment. According to cognitive models, attention to social threat is one of the principles that maintain social anxiety. In fact, individuals with social anxiety present attention bias to threat stimuli. However, there is inconsistency in the literature with regards to attentional biases that individuals with anxiety present. A recent model is the vigilance-avoidance hypothesis, in which socially anxious initially focus on the threat and then they avoid it. Therefore, better understanding and then aiming to modify these attentional biases in a computerized manner, with minimal therapist interaction can be a novel and promising way to treat social anxiety, even among patients who avoid presenting for therapy. Two experiments are aiming to shed some light with regards to the effect of attention bias modification treatment in individuals with social anxiety, taking into consideration the previous mixed results. The first experiment compares training attention to be directed away from threat with a placebo treatment. Approximately 60 socially anxious individuals are randomly allocated in the 2 groups. A structured interview and self-report assessment are done pre-treatment, post-treatment and 6 months follow-up. The second experiment adds a third group of training towards threat (i.e. exposure), investigating if changing attentional avoidance can also affect anxiety levels. Moreover, the second experiment attempts to improve the typical attention modification paradigm by targeting treatment to participants' identified pre-experimental attentional biases. In addition, predictors of treatment effectiveness will be studied and particularly pre-intervention attentional biases as well as state anxiety. Participants are approximately 90 adults with social phobia who are randomly allocated in treatment and placebo groups. In experiment 2 participants will also be assessed behaviourally as well as physiologically to better demonstrate that anxiety reactions to anxiogenic situations have been reduced between pre and post treatment and that they are smaller than those of a placebo control group. It is expected that participants in the intervention groups will show reduced attentional bias and social anxiety symptoms in comparison with the placebo group in both studies. In addition, the kind of pre-intervention bias as well as state anxiety will moderate anxiety changes. This study will enrich existing research on attention bias modification treatment by shedding light into potential mechanisms of change and will examine ways to improve the efficacy of this intervention.
Investigators
Klavdia Neophytou
PhD Clinical Psychology Student
University of Cyprus
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •highly socially anxious students (based on self-report questionnaire)
Exclusion Criteria
- •suicidal intent,
- •substance abuse,
- •primary diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder,
- •or past schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, organic mental disorder,
- •any concurrent psychotherapy,
- •changes in medication during the 12 weeks prior to study and
- •CBT therapy 6 months before the beginning of treatment.
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Social Anxiety changes
Time Frame: 6 months after day 1 (Follow-up)
Only for experiment 1: Measured in self-reported questionnaires with the primary one to be Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory-23.
Social Anxiety levels
Time Frame: Pre-treatment (day 1)
Experiment 1 \& 2: self-reported questionnaires, with the primary one to be Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory-23.
Attentional Biases
Time Frame: Pre-treatment (day 1)
For experiment 1: Assess kind of attentional biases using the dot-probe task (comparison of reaction time to threatening and a neutral stimulus). For experiment 2: Assess kind of attentional biases using the eye-tracking task (measuring eye gaze).
Attentional Biases changes
Time Frame: 6 months after day 1 (Follow-up)
Only for experiment 1: Assess kind of attentional biases using the dot-probe task (comparison of reaction time to threatening and a neutral stimulus).
Physical social anxiety levels
Time Frame: Pre-treatment (day 1)
Only for experiment 2: measured through physiological measures, with the primary one to be heart rate.
Physical social anxiety changes
Time Frame: 3 weeks after the day 1 (Post-treatment)
Only for experiment 2: measured through physiological measures, with the primary one to be heart rate.
Secondary Outcomes
- Social Anxiety levels (clinical interview)(Pre-treatment (day 1))
- Social anxiety changes(6 months after day 1 (follow-up))
- Physical social anxiety levels 1(Pre-treatment (day 1))
- Physical social anxiety changes 1(3 weeks after the day 1 (Post-treatment))
- Physical social anxiety levels 2(Pre-treatment (day 1))
- Physical social anxiety changes 2(3 weeks after the day 1 (Post-treatment))