Cognitive-behavioral group therapy for social phobia in female adolescents: results of a pilot study

To examine the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral group therapy for adolescents (CBGT-A) in females with social phobia and the effect of this treatment on the risk for major depression.

Female adolescents with social phobia (N = 35) were randomly assigned to treatment (n = 12) or no treatment (n = 23) groups. Assessments were conducted at baseline, after treatment, and at a 1-year follow-up.

Eleven subjects completed treatment. Sixteen weeks of treatment produced a significant improvement in interference and reduction in symptoms of social anxiety. There was a significant reduction in the number of subjects meeting DSM-IV criteria for social phobia in the CBGT-A versus the untreated group; however, at the 1-year follow-up there were no significant differences by treatment condition. There was also suggestive evidence that treatment of social phobia lowers the risk for relapse of major depression among those with a history of major depression. Combining social phobia and major depression as the outcome produced more robust treatment effects in the 1-year follow-up.

This pilot study provides evidence for a moderate short-term effect of CBGT-A for treating female adolescents suffering from social phobia and indicates that treatment of social phobia may result in a reduction of major depression.