The Efficacy of Prospective Mental Imagery in Enhancing Approach Motivation Among Socially Anxious Individuals
Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age18+
SponsorPhilipps University Marburg
About this trial
The efficacy of an online intervention aimed at enhancing approach motivation and behavioral engagement in confronting anxiety-inducing social situations is examined among individuals with elevated social anxiety. Participants will receive psychoeducation, followed by either a prospective mental-imagery task or a verbal reasoning task. Efficacy of the intervention is measured by ratings of experienced and anticipated pleasure, approach motivation and self-reported engagement with feared situations one week later.
Eligibility criteria
This trial accepts healthy volunteersQualifiers
Elevated score on Mini-Social Phobia Inventory (Mini-SPIN) > 6
Moderate fear and avoidance of two specified social situations (i.e., giving a stranger a compliment and asking for a restaurant recommendation), each rated above 5 on a Likert scale ranging from 0 (not at all) to 10 (extremely), respectively
Avoidance of the two specified social situations (i.e., giving a stranger a compliment and asking for a restaurant recommendation), indicated by not having engaged in either behaviors in the past 7 days
Disqualifiers
None
Trial design
Design model
Parallel
Treatments tested in this trial
Psychoeducation
BehavioralProviding information about social anxiety, role of safety and avoidance behaviors in maintaining social anxiety, rationale for exposure to feared social situations
Prospective Mental Imagery
BehavioralA standard imagination script is recounted in which participants have successfully mastered the socially feared situation
Verbal Reasoning
BehavioralParticipants are asked to reflect on the pros and cons of facing the socially feared situation
Treatment groups
58 Participants
are divided into 2 treatment groupsGroup A: Psychoeducation + Prospective Mental-Imagery TaskExperimental treatment 2 interventions
Group B: Psychoeducation + Verbal Reasoning TaskActive comparator 2 interventions
Trial outcomes
Primary outcomes
1
Anticipatory Pleasure
2-item questionnaire on a scale 0 (not at all) to 100 (extremely) assessing current pleasure when imaging approaching and having approached the feared situations.
Time frame
Baseline (prior to the assigned intervention) and immediately post-intervention (following the prospective mental imagery or verbal reasoning task)2
Anticipated Pleasure
2-item questionnaire on a scale 0 (not at all) to 100 (extremely) assessing expected pleasure when approaching and having approached the feared situations.
Time frame
Baseline (prior to the assigned intervention) and immediately post-intervention (following the prospective mental imagery or verbal reasoning task)3
Reward Anticipation
2-item questionnaire on a scale 0 (not at all) to 100 (extremely) assessing expected reward related to approaching and having approached the feared situations.
Time frame
Baseline (prior to the assigned intervention) and immediately post-intervention (following the prospective mental imagery or verbal reasoning task)4
Motivation
Self-reported motivation to approach the feared situations on a scale of 0 (not at all) to 100 (extremely).
Time frame
Baseline (prior to the assigned intervention) and immediately post-intervention (following the prospective mental imagery or verbal reasoning task)Secondary outcomes
1
Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN)
17-item questionnaire on a 5-point Likert scale (0 = 'not at all'; 4 = 'extremely') assessing symptom severity related to social anxiety (i.e., fear, avoidance, physical symptoms). Total range score: 0 to 68. Higher scores indicating greater severity of social anxiety.
Time frame
Change from baseline to post-treatment (i.e., 7 days)2
Mood State Questionnaire
6-item assessment using a 7-point bipolar Likert scale to measure a person's current mood across three dimensions: energetic arousal, valence, and calmness. Higher scores indicating higher energetic arousal, more positive valence, and greater calmness.
Time frame
Baseline (prior to the assigned intervention) and immediately post-intervention (following the prospective mental imagery or verbal reasoning task)3
Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS)
24-item questionnaire on a 4-point Likert scale (fear: 0 = 'none'; 3 = 'severe'; avoidance: 0 = 'never'; 3 = 'usually') assessing both fear/anxiety and avoidance of social situations, respectively. Total range score: 0 to 144. Higher scores indicating greater fear and avoidance as well as severity of social anxiety.
Time frame
Change from baseline to post-treatment (i.e., 7 days)4
Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)
9-item questionnaire on a 4-point Likert scale (0 = 'not at all'; 3 = 'nearly every day') assessing the presence and severity of depressive symptoms. Total range score: 0 to 27. Higher scores indicating more severe depression.
Time frame
BaselineSponsors and contacts
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Source ClinicalTrials.gov