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Completed

NCT Number: NCT02400918

Self-help for Treating Social Anxiety Disorder: An Evaluation of a Mindfulness and Acceptance-based Approach

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is the most common anxiety disorder, affecting up to 10% of the population and causing significant distress. Fortunately, there are effective interventions including cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). However, only about a third of people with SAD seek treatment. There are a number of barriers to seeking treatment, including cost, availability, and stigma. Self-help may be one way to reach people who may not otherwise present for treatment. Research on self-help books for SAD based on CBT has yielded promising results. However, no research to date has examined the efficacy of ACT-based self-help for SAD. The primary purpose of the present study is to evaluate The Mindfulness and Acceptance-based Workbook for Social Anxiety and Shyness (Fleming & Kocovski, 2013), an ACT-based self-help book. Socially anxious participants will be randomly assigned to receive the workbook or be placed on a waitlist. It is hypothesized that workbook participants will report significantly reduced social anxiety at the end of eight weeks compared to waitlist participants. The secondary purpose is to evaluate how the treatment works. Increases in mindfulness and acceptance have been shown to lead to reduced social anxiety. These same variables will be examined in the present study. Finally, this research aims to examine variables that can predict who may do well in treatment. Given that two-thirds of people who meet criteria for this disorder will not seek traditional treatments, it is important to develop and evaluate alternative treatments, including those based on self-help.

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Key information

Conditions

Anxiety Anxiety Disorders Behavior Mental Disorders Shyness Social Behavior

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Wilfrid Laurier University

Waterloo, Ontario, N2L3C5, Canada

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

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

Inclusion criteria

  • must be seeking help for shyness/social anxiety

Exclusion criteria

-

Treatment and study plan

The Mindfulness and Acceptance-based Workbook for Social Anxiety and Shyness (Fleming & Kocovski, 2013)

Other

An acceptance and commitment therapy-based self-help workbook for social anxiety and shyness. It includes an 8-week program.

Primary outcomes

  1. Change from Baseline to 4 and 8 weeks later in The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (Liebowitz, 1987)

    Time frame: Baseline and 4 weeks and 8 weeks

    Self-reported social anxiety scores. Each item is scored 0 (none) to 3 (severe) yielding a total between 0 and 72.

  2. Change from Baseline to 4 and 8 weeks later in the Freiberg Mindfulness Inventory (Buchheld, Grossman, & Walach, 2001)

    Time frame: Baseline and 4 weeks and 8 weeks

    Self-reported mindfulness. Each item is scored 0 (rarely) to 4 (almost always) yielding a total between and 0 and 56.

  3. Change from Baseline to 4 and 8 weeks later in the Social Anxiety - Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (MacKenzie & Kocovski, 2010)

    Time frame: Baseline and 4 weeks and 8 weeks

    Self-reported acceptance of social anxiety symptoms. Each item is scored 1 (never true) to 7 (always true) yielding a total between and 19 and 133.

  4. Change from Baseline to 4 and 8 weeks later in the Beck Depression Inventory (Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996)

    Time frame: Baseline and 4 weeks and 8 weeks

    Self-reported depression symptoms. Each item is scored 0 to 3 yielding a total between and 0 and 63.

  5. Treatment credibility will be assessed using the scale by Devilly and Borkovec (2000) one week following the start of treatment (consistent with Nordgreen et al., 2012).

    Time frame: One week following the start of treatment

    This 6-item scale assesses the participants' idea of treatment credibility.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Wilfrid Laurier University

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2015
Primary completion
2016
Study completion
2016
First posted
Mar 27, 2015
Registry last updated
Nov 25, 2016

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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