Dysfunctional Attention Processes in Fear of Blushing: Specificity and Changeability

Clinical Specificity of Dysfunctional Habitual Attention Processes in Fear of Blushing and Their Changeability

Blushing is associated with a heightened self-focused attention. In our study we are interested if this self-focused attention can be shown experimentally and if it can be changed by therapy and training. For the experimental part of the study, we want to compare blushing fearful individuals to social anxious participants who are not fearful of blushing and to healthy controls who report to blush either seldom or quite often. In the therapeutical part of our study, we compare an attention training to the standard cognitive behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder in an intensive group therapy approach.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Phobia, Social
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Task Concentration Training; Behavioral: Standard CBT

Detailed Description

Fear of blushing is a specific syndrome in social anxiety disorder. Although attentional biases for social anxiety disorders have often been reported, specific data for fear of blushing are still missing. In this study, dysfunctional attention processes are examined by the use of various questionnaire measures and attention tests (e.g. Stroop test, task switching paradigm) comparing fear of blushers, other social phobia patients, healthy volunteers who report to blush seldomly respectively often. The second goal of the study is to examine if these attention processes can be changed by training and therapy. Therefore, individuals who fulfill DSM-IV criteria for social anxiety disorder and report fear of blushing as main problem, are treated with attention training and with CBT for social anxiety disorder. Therapy will be held in the form of intensive weekend group therapy. Differences in outcomes for both therapy types and in changeability of attention processes on objective test data are examined. Stability of results are tested up to 6-month and 12-month after post-assessment.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 82
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Germany
  • Dresden, Germany, 01187
    • TU Dresden

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 70 years (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Social anxiety disorder (DSM-IV criteria) and fear of blushing as main complaint
• age: 18-70

Exclusion Criteria:

• acute severe depression or bipolar disorder
• any disorder of ICD group F2
• acute and severe substance misuse
• any bodily illness which hinders from study participation

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: FACTORIAL
• Masking: NONE

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Task Concentration Training; Task Concentration Training TCT following Bögels et al. (1997)	Behavioral: Task Concentration Training; Task Concentration Training TCT following Bögels et al. (1997).
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Standard CBT; standard Cognitive Behavior Therapy, standard CBT following the model of Clark and Wells (1995).	Behavioral: Standard CBT; Standard CBT following the Clark-and-Wells (1995) model of social anxiety disorder, relying on the German manual for SAD (stangier et al., 2006). Includes the model, role-plays with and without safetey behavior, video-feedback.
NO_INTERVENTION: Wait list control; Wait list control group

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Brief Social Phobia Scale	Brief Social Phobia Scale BSPS is an interview assessing fear and avoidance in seven social situations and severity of four bodily symptoms.	pre, within, post, 6-months, and 12-months follow-up

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Social Phobia Composite	The social phobia composite includes several self-report measures like the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, Social Phobia Scale, Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, and Social Phobia Inventory.	pre, within, post, 6-months, and 12-months follow-up
Changes in objective attention test data		within, post, 6-months follow-up

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Technische Universität Dresden
• Collaborators: German Research Foundation
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jürgen Hoyer, Prof. Dr., University of Technology Dresden

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Chaker S, Hofmann SG, Hoyer J. Can a one-weekend group therapy reduce fear of blushing? Results of an open trial. Anxiety Stress Coping. 2010 May;23(3):303-18. doi: 10.1080/10615800903075132.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: November 1, 2008
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): December 1, 2010
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): December 1, 2010

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 11, 2008
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 11, 2008
• First Posted (ESTIMATE): September 12, 2008

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE): September 11, 2015
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 10, 2015
• Last Verified: September 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Social Phobia; cognitive behavior therapy; Social Anxiety Disorder; attention; attention training; Fear of blushing
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Anxiety Disorders; Phobic Disorders; Phobia, Social
• Other Study ID Numbers: EK198082007; DFG HO1900/5-1 (OTHER_GRANT: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG HO1900/5-1)