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Completed

NCT Number: NCT04729803

Attention, Teleconferencing and Social Anxiety

This study involves completing some online assessments and an intervention for social anxiety that all involve interactions with other people on a teleconferencing call.

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Key information

Conditions

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

Age range

18 year–75 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Laboratory for the Study of Anxiety Disorders, University of Texas at Austin

Austin, Texas, 78712, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Age 18-75
  • Fluent in English because the data collection materials have not yet been standardized in other languages
  • Having access to a computer with a webcam and ability to record audio
  • Personal Report of Communication Apprehension > 80
  • Leibowitz Social Anxiety Scale > 30
  • Meets DSM-5 Criteria for Social Anxiety Disorder

Exclusion criteria

  • Significant visual impairment precluding the use of the eye tracking equipment
  • Current, or history of bipolar disorder; current, or history of psychosis

Treatment and study plan

Experimental: Attention Guidance + Exposure

Behavioral
  • Participants will receive a brief standardized psychoeducation module, presented via a video recording.
  • Participants will then complete up to 10 analogue teleconferencing calls, each lasting a maximum of two minutes.
  • Between speeches participants will have a 1-minute break.
  • Participants will complete the subjective units of distress scale (SUDS) before and after each speech trial.

The experimental attention guidance condition: (1) the intervention rationale will include information about the importance of visually attending to the faces of the audience; (2) participants will be given target audience members to focus their gaze on during the their impromptu response. They will be told that they should look at and focus on the target audience member for the whole response.

Active Comparator: Exposure Alone

Behavioral
  • Participants will receive a brief standardized psychoeducation module, presented via a video recording.
  • Participants will then complete up to 10 analogue teleconferencing calls, each lasting a maximum of two minutes.
  • Between speeches participants will have a 1-minute break.
  • Participants will complete the subjective units of distress scale (SUDS) before and after each speech trial.

Experimental: Attention Control + Exposure

Behavioral
  • Participants will receive a brief standardized psychoeducation module, presented via a video recording.

F

  • Participants will then complete up to 10 analogue teleconferencing calls, each lasting a maximum of two minutes. During each call participants will be prompted by one of the audience members.
  • Between speeches participants will have a 1-minute break.
  • Participants will complete the subjective units of distress scale (SUDS) before and after each speech trial.

The experimental attention control condition: (1) the intervention rationale will include information about the importance of attention control; (2) participants will be given target at the center of the screen to focus their gaze on during the their impromptu response. They will be told that they should look at and focus on the target for the whole response.

Primary outcomes

  1. Personal Report of Communication Apprehension Questionnaire

    Time frame: prior to the first treatment session, an average of 2 days

    Assessment of communication concerns, range of scores is 24-120; higher scores are worse

  2. Personal Report of Communication Apprehension Questionnaire

    Time frame: 1-week follow-up

    Assessment of communication concerns, range of scores is 24-120; higher scores are worse

  3. Personal Report of Communication Apprehension Questionnaire

    Time frame: 2-week follow-up

    Assessment of communication concerns, range of scores is 24-120; higher scores are worse

  4. Leibowitz Social Anxiety Scale Questionnaire

    Time frame: prior to the first treatment session, an average of 2 days

    Assessment of general social anxiety, range of scores is 0-144; higher scores are worse

  5. Leibowitz Social Anxiety Scale Questionnaire

    Time frame: 1-week follow-up

    Assessment of general social anxiety, range of scores is 0-144; higher scores are worse

  6. Leibowitz Social Anxiety Scale Questionnaire

    Time frame: 2-week follow-up

    Assessment of general social anxiety, range of scores is 0-144; higher scores are worse

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Texas at Austin

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Investigating Attentional Processes: Teleconferencing and Social Anxiety

Important dates

Study start
2021
Primary completion
2022
Study completion
2022
First posted
Jan 29, 2021
Registry last updated
Jan 8, 2024

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

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

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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