The Effectiveness of Internet-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Fear of Negative Evaluation, Attention bias and Intolerance of Uncertainty in individual with Social Anxiety disorder: A clinical trial

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Neyshabur Branch, Islamic Azad University, Neyshabur, Iran.

2 M.A in psychology, Department of Psychology, Bahar institute higher education, Mashhad, Iran.

3 M.A in psychology, Department of Psychology, Neyshabur Branch, Islamic Azad University, Neyshabur, Iran.

10.22123/chj.2024.404556.2019

Abstract

Introduction: Social anxiety is one of the most common anxiety disorders. Failure to handle this disorder properly can cause many problems in social interactions. The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effectiveness of Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy on attention bias, fear of negative evaluation and intolerance of uncertainty in people with social anxiety.
Materials and Methods: The present study is a quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest design and a control group. The statistical population included people with social anxiety admitted to counseling and psychiatric centers in Mashhad in 2022 (Approximately 100 people). Among them, 30 Individuals were selected using available sampling and they were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group received eight 90-minute sessions (two sessions per week) of Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy, while the control group did not receive any intervention.  Data were collected using Dot-Probe software (Macleod et al., 1986) to measure attention bias, the short-form questionnaire of the fear of negative evaluation scale (Leary, 1983) and the uncertainty intolerance scale (Freeston et al., 1986). Was. The data were analyzed using multivariate covariance analysis.
Results: The findings of the research indicated that there is a significant difference between the post-test scores of the experimental and control groups. Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy in reducing attention bias (F=37.58, Eta=0.58, P<0.001), fear of negative evaluation (F=28.67, P<0.001, Eta=0.51) and uncertainty intolerance (F=21.12, P<0.001, Eta=0.80), had an effect in the experimental group.
Conclusion: It seems that Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy is effective in improving and reducing attention bias, fear of negative evaluation, and intolerance of uncertainty in people with social anxiety. Therefore, the use of this therapeutic intervention is recommended

Keywords

References

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Community Health Journal
Volume 17, Issue 4
April 2024
Pages 47-57

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