Text Message Safety Behavior Fading for Social Anxiety

Text Message Safety Behavior Fading Intervention for Social Anxiety

The current study aims to explore the efficacy of a text message based Safety Behavior Fading Intervention compared to an active control intervention.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Social Anxiety
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Unhealthy Behavior Fading; Behavioral: Safety Behavior Fading for Social Anxiety

Detailed Description

Safety behavior fading may be a viable standalone intervention for social anxiety. In the present trial, participants high in social anxiety will be randomized to either receive a daily checklist exercise aimed at eliminating (1) safety behaviors or (2) unhealthy behaviors. Individuals randomly assigned to the safety behavior fading condition will receive instructions to decrease or eliminate their four most habitual social anxiety safety behaviors. In addition, they will receive daily reminders via text message to decrease these behaviors, along with a safety behavior monitoring checklist in which the participant indicates the extent to which they decreased and/or eliminated each safety behavior over the previous day. Individuals randomly assigned to the control condition will receive similar text messages and a daily checklist to encourage fading of unhealthy behaviors. Participants in both conditions will complete checklists for 28 days. After day 14 of treatment, participants will re-select their target safety behaviors or unhealthy behaviors, and will then be prompted to reduce these new behaviors for another 14 days.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 201
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Florida
    • Tallahassee, Florida, United States, 32312
      • Florida State University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Social Phobia Inventory Score >29
• Stable Psychotropic Medications for 4 weeks prior to participation

Exclusion Criteria:

• Currently participating in psychotherapy for social anxiety

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: Experimental: Safety Behavior Fading; This treatment lasts a total of 28 days. Participants will be asked to identify common safety behaviors related to social anxiety. For the next 14 days, participants will receive instructions to fade out these behaviors. After 14 days, participants will be asked to re-select their target safety behaviors and continue to reduce them over the next two weeks.	Behavioral: Safety Behavior Fading for Social Anxiety; Participants are asked to reduce or eliminate safety behaviors via text message reminders and checklists to monitor progress.
Active Comparator: Unhealthy Behavior Fading; This treatment lasts a total of 28 days. Participants will be asked to identify common unhealthy behaviors related to social anxiety. For the next 14 days, participants will receive instructions to fade out these behaviors. After 14 days, participants will be asked to re-select their target unhealthy behaviors and continue to reduce them over the next two weeks.	Behavioral: Unhealthy Behavior Fading; Participants are asked to reduce or eliminate unhealthy behaviors via text message reminders and checklists to monitor progress.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN)	Self-report scale that measures Social anxiety symptoms. Scores range from 0 to 68 with higher scores indicating higher levels of social anxiety symptoms.	Time Frame: Day 0, Day 14, Day 28, Day 56

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Center For Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, Ten Item Version (CESD-10)	A 10-item self-report scale measuring depression symptoms; higher scores indicate greater depressive symptoms.	Time Frame: Day 0, Day 28, Day 56
Change in UCLA Loneliness Scale, Short Form (ULS-8)	An 8-item self-report measure of subjective loneliness, with higher scores indicating greater loneliness.	Time Frame: Day 0, Day 28, Day 56
Change in Self-Beliefs Related to Social Anxiety Scale (SBSA)	A 15-item scale measuring common and generally maladaptive beliefs related to social anxiety.	Time Frame: Day 0, Day 28, Day 56
Change in Subtle Avoidance Frequency Examination (SAFE) scale	A 32-item self-report measure of safety behavior usage frequency	Time Frame: Day 0, Day 28, Day 56

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Florida State University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 1, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 1, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): September 1, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 5, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 5, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): December 13, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 20, 2025
• Last Verified: February 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Social Anxiety; Intervention; Safety Behaviors; Text-message
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Anxiety Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY2247MOD4140

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No