Self-help Books for Social Anxiety
| Status: | Recruiting |
|---|---|
| Conditions: | Anxiety, Healthy Studies |
| Therapuetic Areas: | Psychiatry / Psychology, Other |
| Healthy: | No |
| Age Range: | 18 - Any |
| Updated: | 1/11/2018 |
| Start Date: | September 16, 2017 |
| End Date: | September 15, 2019 |
| Contact: | Jennifer Krafft, BA |
| Email: | jennifer.krafft@aggiemail.usu.edu |
| Phone: | 4359320291 |
A Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) Comparing Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Self-help Books for Social Anxiety
The goal of this study is to compare the efficacy and mechanisms of change of two self-help
books for social anxiety in college students in a randomized controlled trial. One book is
based on traditional cognitive behavioral therapy and one is based on acceptance and
commitment therapy.
This study will test the following hypotheses:
Hypothesis 1: The CBT and ACT book conditions will both experience decreased social anxiety
and distress. Life satisfaction and values progress will increase in both conditions.
Hypothesis 2: The CBT condition will result in greater use of reappraisal, the ACT condition
will not.
Hypothesis 3: The ACT condition will result in greater use of defusion and decreased
psychological inflexibility; the CBT condition will not.
Hypothesis 4: Changes in experiential avoidance and defusion will predict changes in social
anxiety and values progress in the ACT condition.
Hypothesis 5: Changes in reappraisal will predict changes in social anxiety in the CBT
condition. Change in values progress will be predicted by change in social anxiety in the CBT
condition.
Hypothesis 6: The association between social anxiety/negative affect and values progress will
decrease or disappear in the ACT condition (i.e., decoupling), and remain the same in the CBT
condition.
books for social anxiety in college students in a randomized controlled trial. One book is
based on traditional cognitive behavioral therapy and one is based on acceptance and
commitment therapy.
This study will test the following hypotheses:
Hypothesis 1: The CBT and ACT book conditions will both experience decreased social anxiety
and distress. Life satisfaction and values progress will increase in both conditions.
Hypothesis 2: The CBT condition will result in greater use of reappraisal, the ACT condition
will not.
Hypothesis 3: The ACT condition will result in greater use of defusion and decreased
psychological inflexibility; the CBT condition will not.
Hypothesis 4: Changes in experiential avoidance and defusion will predict changes in social
anxiety and values progress in the ACT condition.
Hypothesis 5: Changes in reappraisal will predict changes in social anxiety in the CBT
condition. Change in values progress will be predicted by change in social anxiety in the CBT
condition.
Hypothesis 6: The association between social anxiety/negative affect and values progress will
decrease or disappear in the ACT condition (i.e., decoupling), and remain the same in the CBT
condition.
The investigators aim to recruit 100 participants for this RCT (50 per treatment condition).
This will provide adequate power (0.80) to detect differences between groups of medium effect
size (d=0.50). Eligibility criteria will include being 18 years of age or older, being a
current Utah State University (USU) student, not having participated in previous self-help
studies conducted by the USU Contextual Behavioral Science (CBS) Lab, being interested in
self-help for social anxiety, and scoring at least a 6 on the Mini-SPIN, a screener for
social anxiety symptoms. Participants will be recruited via SONA, flyers, online postings,
classroom announcements, and through a general online screener for various USU CBS Lab
studies.
Total study participation will occur over approximately 8 weeks. All study procedures will be
completed online, on a computer/mobile phone. After completing informed consent, participants
will complete a baseline survey.
At the end of the baseline survey, participants will be randomly assigned to use a book based
on CBT (The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook) or on ACT (The Mindfulness and Acceptance
Workbook for Social Anxiety and Shyness). Note that participants will be asked not to access
other self-help books during the study duration. Participants will be provided with an 8-week
reading schedule and a link to the assigned book. Participants will be asked to complete a
midtreatment survey 4 weeks after the beginning of treatment. The midtreatment survey will
include questions about adherence. Participants will be asked to complete a posttreatment
survey 8 weeks after the beginning of treatment. This survey will also ask about adherence
(reading, use of strategies taught in the book, and exposures). Researcher contact will
involve reminders to complete assessments, a basic email assistance in identifying and
responding to any barriers to using the self-help book, and twice-weekly reminders of the
suggested reading schedule.
After completing the initial assessment participants will be sent a link to The Mindfulness
and Acceptance Workbook for Social Anxiety and Shyness if they are assigned to the ACT
condition, or a link to the Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook if they are in the CBT
condition. They will be able to access the book online at any time. Participants will be
asked to read assigned chapters on an 8-week schedule.
The primary treatment components in the Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Social
Anxiety and Shyness are psychoeducation, values and goals, mindfulness, acceptance, defusion,
and committed action. The book uses writing exercises to identify
patterns/values/goals/committed action, guided and unguided mindfulness meditations, and
acceptance exercises.
The primary treatment components in The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook are
psychoeducation (introducing the cognitive behavioral model), self-assessment (e.g., anxiety
hierarchy, identifying beliefs, identifying avoidance), cognitive restructuring, situational
exposure, exposure to physical symptoms, and maintenance/consolidation. The book also
includes a chapter on motivation and treatment options and a chapter on medication, but these
were omitted in a previous trial of the book and will also be omitted in the present study.
There is also a chapter on social skills, which will be omitted in order to keep dosage
similar between the two books. The book briefly mentions acceptance in the context of
exposure (e.g., fear will stick around longer after fighting it) but includes no major
acceptance or mindfulness components.
This will provide adequate power (0.80) to detect differences between groups of medium effect
size (d=0.50). Eligibility criteria will include being 18 years of age or older, being a
current Utah State University (USU) student, not having participated in previous self-help
studies conducted by the USU Contextual Behavioral Science (CBS) Lab, being interested in
self-help for social anxiety, and scoring at least a 6 on the Mini-SPIN, a screener for
social anxiety symptoms. Participants will be recruited via SONA, flyers, online postings,
classroom announcements, and through a general online screener for various USU CBS Lab
studies.
Total study participation will occur over approximately 8 weeks. All study procedures will be
completed online, on a computer/mobile phone. After completing informed consent, participants
will complete a baseline survey.
At the end of the baseline survey, participants will be randomly assigned to use a book based
on CBT (The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook) or on ACT (The Mindfulness and Acceptance
Workbook for Social Anxiety and Shyness). Note that participants will be asked not to access
other self-help books during the study duration. Participants will be provided with an 8-week
reading schedule and a link to the assigned book. Participants will be asked to complete a
midtreatment survey 4 weeks after the beginning of treatment. The midtreatment survey will
include questions about adherence. Participants will be asked to complete a posttreatment
survey 8 weeks after the beginning of treatment. This survey will also ask about adherence
(reading, use of strategies taught in the book, and exposures). Researcher contact will
involve reminders to complete assessments, a basic email assistance in identifying and
responding to any barriers to using the self-help book, and twice-weekly reminders of the
suggested reading schedule.
After completing the initial assessment participants will be sent a link to The Mindfulness
and Acceptance Workbook for Social Anxiety and Shyness if they are assigned to the ACT
condition, or a link to the Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook if they are in the CBT
condition. They will be able to access the book online at any time. Participants will be
asked to read assigned chapters on an 8-week schedule.
The primary treatment components in the Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Social
Anxiety and Shyness are psychoeducation, values and goals, mindfulness, acceptance, defusion,
and committed action. The book uses writing exercises to identify
patterns/values/goals/committed action, guided and unguided mindfulness meditations, and
acceptance exercises.
The primary treatment components in The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook are
psychoeducation (introducing the cognitive behavioral model), self-assessment (e.g., anxiety
hierarchy, identifying beliefs, identifying avoidance), cognitive restructuring, situational
exposure, exposure to physical symptoms, and maintenance/consolidation. The book also
includes a chapter on motivation and treatment options and a chapter on medication, but these
were omitted in a previous trial of the book and will also be omitted in the present study.
There is also a chapter on social skills, which will be omitted in order to keep dosage
similar between the two books. The book briefly mentions acceptance in the context of
exposure (e.g., fear will stick around longer after fighting it) but includes no major
acceptance or mindfulness components.
Inclusion Criteria:
- Age 18 or older
- Enrolled at Utah State University
- Have not participated in other self-help studies run by the USU CBS Lab
- Interested in using self-help book for social anxiety
- Scoring at least a 6 on the Mini Social Phobia Inventory (Mini-SPIN), a validated
social anxiety screening measure
Exclusion Criteria:
- Exclusion criteria mirror inclusion criteria: below the age of 18, not a student at
Utah State University, have participated in previous self-help studies run by the CBS
Lab, not interested in using a self-help book for social anxiety, or scoring a 5 or
lower on the Mini-SPIN.
We found this trial at
1
site
Logan, Utah 84322
Principal Investigator: Michael Levin, PhD
Phone: 541-531-3892
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