Interpretation Bias, Social Anxiety Disorder
Conditions
Keywords
interpretation bias modification, Word-Sentence Association Paradigm, Social Anxiety Disorder, Pakistan Young Adult, Cogntive Bias Modification
Brief summary
This randomized, single-blind trial tests whether one session of interpretation bias modification reduces immediate social-evaluative anxiety and shifts interpretation bias in Pakistani university students aged 18 to 25 years with elevated social anxiety. Participants are assigned to either feedback-contingent interpretation bias modification or a structurally matched interpretation control condition. Primary and secondary outcomes are assessed before and after the intervention session using short-form state-trait anxiety measures and Word-Sentence Association Paradigm endorsement indices.
Detailed description
Social anxiety in young adults is maintained in part by a tendency to interpret ambiguous social information as threatening. The study evaluates a behavioral interpretation training procedure delivered with OpenSesame, using trial-by-trial responses to ambiguous social sentences preceded by threat or benign prime words. In the experimental arm, feedback contingently reinforces benign endorsements and threat rejections. In the control arm, exposure and timing are matched but feedback is noncontingent and presented on half of trials. The design is a parallel two-arm randomized pretest-posttest trial with participant masking to assignment. Assessment includes the 5-item state and 5-item trait short-form State-Trait Anxiety Inventory totals and Word-Sentence Association Paradigm threat and benign endorsement proportions. The mechanistic hypothesis is that feedback-consistent learning increases benign interpretations and reduces threat interpretations, which is associated with lower post-session state anxiety. The trial was conducted as part of a PhD thesis at the University of Gujrat under formal institutional approvals.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALWSAP-based interpretation bias modification
Single-session Word-Sentence Association Paradigm training with performance-contingent feedback across 220 trials in two 110-trial blocks; each block includes 70 social ambiguity trials and 40 non-social fillers. Correct feedback follows benign endorsement or threat rejection; incorrect feedback follows threat endorsement or benign rejection.
BEHAVIORALWSAP interpretation control condition
Matched Word-Sentence Association Paradigm exposure with identical stimulus timing and response demands, feedback delivered on 50 percent of trials without contingency favoring benign over threat interpretations.
Sponsors
Ather Mujitaba
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)
Masking description
Participants are unaware of arm assignment.
Intervention model description
Parallel Assignment.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 25 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* age 18 to 25 years * Social Phobia Inventory score greater than 19 * at least moderate severity on the DSM-5-TR Severity Measure for Social Anxiety Disorder-Adult * able to read study materials * provides written informed consent.
Exclusion criteria
* clinically elevated depressive symptoms on Beck Depression Inventory-II at or above prespecified cutoff \[above 16\] * clinically elevated general anxiety symptoms on the Beck Anxiety Inventory at or above prespecified cutoff \[ above 20\] * current medical or psychiatric condition likely to interfere with safe or valid participation * prior participation in this trial.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| short version of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory | Baseline (pre-intervention, same visit) and immediate post-intervention after the single-session training (same visit, approximately 30 to 60 minutes after intervention) | The primary outcome is within-participant change in state anxiety measured with the 5-item short-form State-Trait Anxiety Inventory state subscale (STAIS-5). Items are summed to a total score, with higher scores indicating greater state anxiety. The primary comparison is the between-group difference in change score (IBM versus ICC). |
| Spielberger short-form State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (S-STAI) | Baseline pre-intervention and immediate post-intervention in the same visit (approximately 30 to 60 minutes after training starts). | Difference between post-session and baseline STAIS-5 total score; higher scores indicate greater state anxiety. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Word-Sentence Association Paradigm threat endorsement rate. | Baseline pre-intervention and immediate post-intervention in the same visit. | Proportion of threat word-sentence pairings endorsed as related; lower values indicate less threat-consistent interpretation. Used as interpretation bias metrices. |
Countries
Pakistan
Contacts
CONTACTather mujitaba mujitaba Mujitaba, PhD Scholar
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORSaima Riaz Riaz, PhD
University of Gujrat
Outcome results
None listed