CBT vs. ABM vs. for Social Anxiety

Cognitive Behavior Therapy vs. Attention Bias Modification Treatment for Social Anxiety

Adults with Social Anxiety Disorder will be pseudo randomly assigned to either an individual cognitive behavior therapy, attention bias modification treatment (allocation ratio - 1.5:1).

Outcome measures will be social anxiety symptoms and severity as measured by gold standard questionnaires as well as diagnosis of social anxiety disorder derived from structured clinical interviews based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) IV criteria.

The investigators expect to find significant reduction in social anxiety symptoms in all of the groups, with the cognitive behavior therapy group showing greater reduction in symptoms than the other groups. Mechanisms of change in all of the groups will be examined via measures of cognitive biases, affect, and other common and specific factors.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Social Phobia
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Attention Bias Modification (ABM); Behavioral: Cognitive Behavior Therapy

Detailed Description

120 Adults with Social Anxiety Disorder will be pseudo randomly assigned to either an individual cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), attention bias modification treatment (ABM)).

Outcome measures will be social anxiety symptoms and severity as measured by gold standard questionnaires as well as diagnosis of social anxiety disorder derived from structured clinical interviews based on DSM-IV criteria.

The investigators expect to find significant reduction in social anxiety symptoms in all of the groups, with the cognitive behavior therapy group showing greater reduction in symptoms than the other groups. Mechanisms of change in all of the groups will be examined via measures of cognitive biases, affect, and other common and specific factors.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 69
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Israel
  • Jerusalem, Israel
    • The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 75 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of Generalized Social Anxiety Disorder, LSAS>50
• If on medication, patients must be on a stable dose
• Hebrew language fluency

Exclusion Criteria:

• Primary Axis I or Axis II disorder other than SAD
• suicidal ideation
• Substance dependence within the past three months or current substance abuse
• Mental retardation or another pervasive developmental disability
• Current or past schizophrenia or psychosis, current bipolar disorder, or organic brain syndrome

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Attention Bias Modification (ABM); Attention training via 8 weekly repeated trials of a dot-probe task intended to direct attention away from threat stimuli.	Behavioral: Attention Bias Modification (ABM); Attention training via 8 weekly repeated trials of a dot-probe task intended to direct attention away from threat stimuli.
Experimental: Cognitive Behavior Therapy; CBT will consist of 16-20 weekly individual treatment sessions aimed to reduce symptoms via cognitive and behavioral interventions	Behavioral: Cognitive Behavior Therapy; CBT will consist of 16-20 weekly individual treatment sessions aimed to reduce symptoms via cognitive and behavioral interventions

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Liebovitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) - diagnostic interview	LSAS is a 24-items clinician-administered scale developed for the assessment of fear and avoidance associated with social situations. The LSAS assesses a wide range of both social interaction and performance/observation situations, which are rated for degree of fear/anxiety and frequency of avoidance.	Expected time frame of up to 32 weeks per participant. Participants will be assessed before and after the administration of the treatment, every 4 weeks during treatment and at 3 months follow-up

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN) - self-report questionnaire	The SPIN is a widely used 17-item self-report questionnaire that assesses fear, avoidance and physiological symptoms of social anxiety.	Up to 32 weeks per participant. The SPIN will be administered before and after each treatment session and at 3 months follow-up

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• Collaborators: Israel Science Foundation
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jonathan D Huppert, PhD, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: January 1, 2011
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 1, 2014
• Study Completion (Actual): November 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 24, 2013
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 24, 2013
• First Posted (Estimate): July 26, 2013

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): February 23, 2016
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 22, 2016
• Last Verified: February 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Anxiety Disorders; Phobic Disorders; Phobia, Social
• Other Study ID Numbers: 1624