Interpretation Bias Modification Training for Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD)

August 5, 2026 updated by: University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

Computerized Interpretation Bias Modification Training for Social Anxiety Disorder

The overall goal of the current study is to develop and evaluate a computerized interpretation bias modification (IBM) training for treating social anxiety disorder (SAD). A key focus is placed on enhancing accessibility and efficacy of IBM for SAD by delivering it through a mobile platform, with three specific aims outlined.

First, the current study aims to examine the efficacy of the IBM training in reducing social anxiety symptoms by comparing the pre-, post-, and follow-up assessments of the IBM group with a control group.

Second, the current study aims to examine the effect of IBM on reducing participants' daily social anxiety symptoms using daily diary methodology.

Third, the investigators also aim to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the IBM training. The investigators expect that at least 70% of participants will complete 4 or more of the six training sessions.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

50

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Wisconsin
      • Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, 53211
        • University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosis of SAD based on the DIAMOND screening interview
  • Moderate or severe symptoms of SAD as assessed by the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS score of >= 30)
  • Ages 18-60
  • English as a primary language
  • Possession of a mobile device for access to training and text message for daily diary

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Self-report visual impairment that cannot be adjusted and will prevent them from clearly recognizing words and pictures on mobile screen
  • Self-reported history of a bipolar disorder or psychotic disorder as measured by Diagnostic History Scale
  • Current psychotherapy for SAD

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Cognitive Bias Modification for Interpretation Bias (CBM-I)
CBM-I is designed to modify negative interpretation bias, a core cognitive characteristic of social anxiety disorder. During the training, participants will complete sentence fragments by filling in missing letters, guiding them to interpret ambiguous social scenarios in a benign way. Participants will complete the training three times per week for two weeks.
Behavioral: Interpretation Bias Modification Training
Interpretation Bias Modification Training aims to help participants interpret ambiguous social scenarios in a benign way, with the goal of reducing social anxiety symptoms. Individuals with social anxiety disorder tend to interpret ambiguous social situations negatively or catastrophize mildly negative events. This intervention targets this core cognitive characteristic by repeatedly training more adaptive interpretation. Cognitive training is delivered through mobile devices, increasing accessibility and cost-effectiveness while allowing participants to complete the intervention remotely.
Active Comparator: Stress Management Psychoeducation (SMP) Group
The Stress Management Psychoeducation (SMP) group will also receive a cognitive training intervention involving the completion of sentence fragments by filling in missing letters. However, the training content will focus on stress management strategies, such as relaxation techniques and organizational skills, rather than interpretation bias modification. Participants in the SMP group will also complete the training three times per week for two weeks.
Behavioral: Stress Management Psychoeducation
Stress Management Psychoeducation (SMP) is used as a credible comparison condition to evaluate whether CBM-I has specific therapeutic effects on reducing social anxiety symptoms. The SMP condition follows the same training format as CBM-I, in which participants complete fragmented sentences by filling in missing letters. However, the training content focuses on stress management strategies rather than modifying maladaptive interpretations of ambiguous social situations.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation (BFNE)
Time Frame: Pre-training (baseline); Post-training (approximately 1-2 days after completion of the 2-week intervention); 2-week follow-up (2 weeks after completion of the 2-week intervention)
The BFNE is a 12-item questionnaire, evaluating the level of apprehension and distress about expected negative evaluation. The BFNE was used to assess the cognitive symptoms of social anxiety disorder.
Pre-training (baseline); Post-training (approximately 1-2 days after completion of the 2-week intervention); 2-week follow-up (2 weeks after completion of the 2-week intervention)
Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale- Self-report Version (LSAS-SR)
Time Frame: Pre-training (baseline); Post-training (approximately 1-2 days after completion of the 2-week intervention); 2-week follow-up (2 weeks after completion of the 2-week intervention)
The LSAS-SR is a 24-item scale that assesses the severity of social anxiety symptoms across two subscales: the level of anxiety (emotional reaction) and the level of avoidance (behavioral reaction). In the current study, the two subscales will be analyzed separately to evaluate the effects of the intervention on the emotional and behavioral symptoms of social anxiety.
Pre-training (baseline); Post-training (approximately 1-2 days after completion of the 2-week intervention); 2-week follow-up (2 weeks after completion of the 2-week intervention)
Diagnostic Interview for Anxiety, Mood, and OCD and Related Neuropsychiatric Disorders (DIAMOND)
Time Frame: Pre-training (baseline); 2-week follow-up (2 weeks after completion of the 2-week intervention)
DIAMOND is a semi-structured diagnostic interview to assess DSM-5 psychiatric disorders and has demonstrated good reliability and validity. For the current study, only the social anxiety disorder module was administered at pre-training and follow-up assessments.
Pre-training (baseline); 2-week follow-up (2 weeks after completion of the 2-week intervention)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Word Sentence Association Paradigm (WSAP)
Time Frame: Pre-training (baseline); Post-training (approximately 1-2 days after completion of the 2-week intervention); 2-week follow-up (2 weeks after completion of the 2-week intervention)
The WSAP task was used to evaluate interpretation bias in response to ambiguous situations. During the task, participants indicate whether a presented word (either negative or benign) is related or unrelated to a subsequently presented ambiguous sentence. The scenarios included both social and general situations. The percentage of endorsement responses was calculated separately for each trial type: social-threat, social-benign, general-threat, and general benign.
Pre-training (baseline); Post-training (approximately 1-2 days after completion of the 2-week intervention); 2-week follow-up (2 weeks after completion of the 2-week intervention)
Daily Diary
Time Frame: 2 weeks of training period
Daily diary was used to evaluate participants' daily social interactions and changes in social anxiety symptoms. Participants in both groups received a text message to complete the daily diary survey each evening over the 2-week period of training. The survey first asked participants to report the social interactions they had experienced that day, followed by questions assessing anxiety, avoidance, negative self-perception, fear of negative judgment, and satisfaction related to the most stressful social interaction.
2 weeks of training period
Credibility and Expectancy Questionnaire (CEQ)
Time Frame: After the 1st training session
The CEQ is a self-report measure that assesses participants' perceptions of the credibility of an intervention their expectations regarding its outcomes. This measure was used to evaluate the feasibility of the CBM-I intervention.
After the 1st training session
Treatment Acceptability Questionnaire (TAQ)
Time Frame: 2-week follow-up (2 weeks after completion of the 2-week intervention)
The TAQ is a 5-item self-report measures that evaluates participants' perceptions of an intervention's acceptability, ethicality, acceptability of side effects, pleasantness and comfort of the intervention.
2-week follow-up (2 weeks after completion of the 2-week intervention)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

September 26, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 8, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

December 8, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 17, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 5, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

August 7, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 7, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 5, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • UWM 25.022

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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