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Completed

NCT Number: NCT06022432

Overcoming Treatment Barriers

This study aims to assess whether negative or rather the lack of positive treatment expectations could be positively influenced by online short interventions and increase intention so seek treatment and actual help-seeking behavior when compared to a no-treatment control group. Further, the study investigators like to explore if specifically focusing on intensifying positive treatment expectations vs. a reduction of expectations about negative treatment effects will influence the pattern of results differently.

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Key information

Conditions

Health Care Utilization Behavior Health Behavior Health Care Seeking Behavior Patient Acceptance of Health Care Treatment Adherence and Compliance

Age range

18 year–75 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Philipps-Universität Marburg

Marburg, 35032, Germany

About this study

The investigators expect that participants receiving an intervention e.g., amplifying positive (performance) expectancies vs. reducing negative (performance) expectancies of psychotherapeutic treatment, will show an increase in intentions to seek treatment and are more likely to report actual treatment-seeking behavior after the intervention when compared with participants who will describe their treatment expectations via a writing task.

Further, the investigators want to explore if the expectancy-modulating interventions will differently affect the intention to seek treatment within socially anxious individuals.

If participants agree, the investigators plan to assess changes in expectations, attitudes as well as actual treatment seeking behavior at a Follow-Up assessment one week later (data from Follow-Up will be analyzed exploratively and is not part of the main hypotheses).

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

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

Inclusion criteria

  • at least 18 years old
  • fluent in German (C Level)
  • access to a computer device with internet access

Exclusion criteria

  • non correctable hearing or visual impairment
  • current in psychotherapeutic treatment or on a waiting list
  • no neurological impairment or psychotic disorders

Treatment and study plan

Video of a patients testimonial

Other

The intervention is a prerecorded video of a re-enacted patient-therapist interaction whereby the patient gives a testimonial about the treatment process while either reducing negative expectations or maximizing positive expectations about therapy, respectively.

Other names: Free-Writing Task

Writing Task

Other

Participants write freely about their current treatment expectations / apprehensions to seek treatment

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in Treatment Expectations (Treatment Expectation Questionnaire, "TEX-Q")

    Time frame: At baseline (pre-measurement), immediately after intervention (post-measurement, approximately 20 minutes after beginning of study procedure) and at Follow-Up investigation (one week after post measurement)

    Explicit treatment expectations measured by 15 items on a 11point Likert-scale

  2. Changes in intention to seek treatment

    Time frame: At baseline (pre-measurement), immediately after intervention (post-measurement, approximately 20 minutes after beginning of study procedure) and at Follow-Up investigation (one week after post measurement)

    Estimated Probability to seek treatment on a self-generated rating scale from 0 (not likely at all) to 100 (very much likely)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Intention to seek treatment (Behavioral Outcome 1)

    Time frame: After intervention (post measurement, approximately 30 minutes after beginning of study procedure)

    Participants respond with "yes" or "no" to indicate their interest to receive more concrete information about social anxiety and its treatment possibilities. If the answer was answered with "yes", participants are asked to give their e-mail address to receive information which is used to assess intention to seek treatment in form of a behavioral outcome.

Other outcomes

  1. Treatment-seeking behavior (Behavioral Outcome 2)

    Time frame: At Follow-Up investigation (one week after post measurement)

    If participants agree to participate at our Follow Up, a second behavioral outcome will be assessed. Participants will be asked if they meanwhile have researched more concrete information about social anxiety online, connected with internet platforms or self-support groups, applied for online therapy programs/sessions, contacted or sought professional help for outpatient or psychiatric clinics. All categories have to be answered by a dichotomous scale ("yes" or "no").

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Philipps University Marburg

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Overcoming Treatment Barriers: The Role of Expectations in the Behavioral Intention of Treatment Seeking for Social Anxiety

Acronym: OBSTACLE-S

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2024
Study completion
2024
First posted
Sep 1, 2023
Registry last updated
Jul 10, 2025

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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