Cognitive behavioral group therapy for social anxiety disorder: Effectiveness study at the Icelandic center for Treatment of Anxiety disorders for youths

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is one the most common anxiety disorders in adolescence and can have inhibiting impact on individuals life. The purpose of this research study was to examine the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral group therapy (CBGT) for adolescents with SAD in Iceland. The participants consisted of 32 Icelandic adolescents with a mean age of 17 years (sd = 0.96), who completed four questionnaires assessing social- and general anxiety, and depression symptoms before treatment, after treatment, and at four-weeks follow-up. The participant’s scores were summarized and compared across time and effect sizes were calculated. Finally, it was examined whether the treatment leads up to clinically significant changes. The results revealed that the participant’s anxiety and depression symptoms decreased over time indicating that the group CBT was effective. These results support the hypothesis of the current study which was that participants would experience less social anxiety, general anxiety, and depression symptoms following the treatment. Effect sizes indicated a great treatment effect on SAD symptoms among the participants from pretest to posttest (d = 0.96, d = 1.15). Furthermore, the proportion of participants reporting clinical level of anxiety and depression decreased after the treatment. Keywords: Social anxiety, cognitive behavioral therapy, group therapy, adolescents, anxiety, impact assessment.

Author dc:creator

• Ásdís Magnea Egilsdóttir 1988-

Contributors dc:contributor

• Háskólinn í Reykjavík

• Sálfræði
• Hugræn atferlismeðferð
• Félagsfælni
• Psychology
• Social phobia
• Cognitive therapy

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1946/30647

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:skemman.is:1946/30647