Do Social Threat Cognitions Decrease With School-Based CBT and Predict Treatment Outcome in Adolescents With Social...

Area of Science:

• Clinical Psychology
• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Anxiety Disorders

Background:

• Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) shows limited responsiveness to standard cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT).
• Social threat cognitions, involving fear of negative evaluation, are implicated in SAD.
• Identifying factors that enhance CBT efficacy for SAD is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of Skills for Academic and Social Success (SASS), a school-based CBT, on social threat cognitions in adolescents with SAD.
• To determine if reductions in social threat cognitions predict treatment response in youth with SAD.

Main Methods:

• 138 high school students diagnosed with SAD were randomly assigned to either SASS or a non-specific school counseling intervention.
• Social threat cognitions were assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and 5-month follow-up.
• Treatment response was defined by symptom reduction.

Main Results:

• SASS participants demonstrated significant reductions in social threat cognitions at 5-month follow-up.
• Greater decreases in social threat cognitions were observed in treatment responders compared to non-responders at both post-intervention and follow-up.
• These findings highlight the role of social threat cognitions in treatment outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Skills for Academic and Social Success (SASS) effectively reduces social threat cognitions in adolescents with SAD.
• Monitoring and targeting social threat cognitions may be a key strategy for improving treatment outcomes in youth with SAD.
• Further research should explore the mechanisms linking social threat cognition reduction to clinical improvement in SAD.