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Completed

NCT Number: NCT06054386

Attention Bias Modification Training for Social Phobia (ABMSP)

Attentional bias has primarily been investigated as a primary cognitive etiology of social anxiety symptoms. Previous research has found that individuals with high social anxiety showed facilitated attentional engagement to threat stimuli or delayed disengagement of attention from threat. Attentional Bias Modification Training (ABMT) was developed through applying the attentional mechanism in social anxiety. During ABMT, participants are deliberately induced to shift their attention away from threat stimuli and toward neutral stimuli. Despite its proven effectiveness, a recent meta-study found that the effect size of ABMT is significant but too small. As a result, the current study focuses on improving the existing ABMT by incorporating integrative factors into attention training. The current study aims to integrate bottom-up and top-down cognitive processes in ABMT. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two conditions (active or placebo training) and will complete the ABMT for three weeks. The ABMT's efficacy will be assessed by comparing pre- and post-training measures.

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Key information

Conditions

Social Anxiety Disorder Anxiety Disorders Mental Disorders Phobia, Social Phobic Disorders

Age range

18 year–60 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53211, United States

About this study

Individuals with at least mild level of social anxiety symptoms will be invited to the current study. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of the two attention training conditions: a Integrated Attentional Bias Modification (I-ABM) training or placebo training (PLT). Before and after the training, participants will complete computerized tasks (e.g., attention network task, dot-probe task) and self-report questionnaires.

The basic design of I-ABM training will follow the dot-probe task, which will ask participants to swipe or tap on the probe in the correct direction. The I-ABM training aims to shift attention away from threatening stimuli or improve the inhibitory control ability. The PLT training will have the same basic design, but this will not include therapeutic components. Participants will complete the training three times per week for three weeks (a total of 9 training sessions), and there will be post-training and a 2-week follow-up assessment.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Diagnosis of social anxiety disorder (based on the DIAMOND interview - Social anxiety module)
  • Moderate or severe symptoms of social anxiety as revealed by the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS score of ≥ 40) or MINI-SPIN (Score of ≥ 6)
  • Ages 18-60
  • English as a primary language
  • Possession of a mobile device for access to the app (Inquisit 6)

Exclusion criteria

  • Self-reported 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

Treatment and study plan

Attentional Bias Modification Training (ABMT)

Other

The ABMT is aimed to modify attentional bias for negative stimuli in social anxiety by deliberately inducing the participant's attention to positive or neutral stimuli. In the training, after a pair of facial stimuli (e.g., threatening-neutral, neutral-neutral) are presented, a left or right arrow appears in one of the location. Participants are instructed to press the button in the correct direction as quickly and accurately as possible.

General Attention Control Training

Other

The general attention control training aimed to improve participants' general attention control ability by asking them to press a left or right arrow in the correct direction. The basic design of attention control training is the same as the ABMT, but the attention control training does not aim to alter the direction of attention toward or away from certain stimuli.

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in Mini-Social Phobia Inventory (Mini-SPIN) across Pre-training, Post-training, and 2-week follow up

    Time frame: Pre-training (before the first mobile training), Post-training (after three weeks of training), 2-Week follow-up (two weeks after the post training assessment)

    The Mini-Social Phobia Inventory (Mini-SPIN; Connor et al., 2001) is a 3-item measure which assesses the degree to which an individual experiences fear or avoidance in social situations. The measure uses a 5-point-Likert rating scale ranges from 0="not at all" to 4="extremely", with a total score range of 0-12. At a cutoff score of 6, the Mini-SPIN showed sensitivity of 89% and specificity of 90% for detecting generalized social anxiety disorder (Connor et al., 2001). The higher the scores, the more severe the symptoms of social anxiety.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) across Pre-training, Post-training, and 2-week follow-up

    Time frame: Pre-training (before the first mobile training), Post-training (after three weeks of training), 2-Week follow-up (two weeks after the post training assessment)

    The Depression, Anxiety, and Stress scale (DASS-21; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995) comprises 21 items with three subscales (depression, anxiety, and stress), each subscale consisting of seven items. Items are rated on a 4-point scale ranging from 0="did not apply to me at all" to 3="applied to me very much or most of the time". Total scores in each subscale are calculated by adding the scores from seven items and multiplying by two, with each subscale having a total score range of 0-42. The DASS-21 showed good internal reliability (coefficient alpha ranged between 0.74 and 0.93). The higher the scores, the more severe the depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms.

  2. Change in Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS-SR) across Pre-training, Post-training, and 2-week follow-up

    Time frame: Pre-training (before the first mobile training), Post-training (after three weeks of training), 2-Week follow-up (two weeks after the post training assessment)

    The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale-Self Report (LSAS-SR; Liebowitz, 1987) assesses the severity of social anxiety and its associated avoidance across a variety of life domains. The LSAS-SR consists of 24 items that are rated on a 5-point scale from 0 ("none") to 4 ("very severe"). The LSAS-SR is divided into two subscales: fear and avoidance, with total scores ranging from 0-72 for each. The The higher the scores, the more severe the symptoms of social anxiety.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Mobile-based Attentional Bias Modification Training (ABMT) for Socially Anxious Individuals

Important dates

Study start
2022
Primary completion
2024
Study completion
2024
First posted
Sep 26, 2023
Registry last updated
Jul 20, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

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This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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