The Feasibility of Treating Public Speaking Anxiety in Adolescents with a Blended Care Module and the Role of Cognitions and Comorbid Depression

A social fear adolescents with and without a Social Anxiety Disorder experience very frequently is public speaking anxiety. The cognitions these adolescents have in public speaking situations play an important role in the development and maintenance of their anxiety. Because of the impairments they experience in life, it is important to start treatment. The fact that only a small proportion of adolescents with social fears receive the focussed treatment they need, and that treatment outcomes are not optimal, is problematic. Blended care, the combination of face-to-face and online therapy, is a new type of treatment that appears to be promising for the treatment of mental health problems. This study aimed to research the feasibility of the blended care module ‘’Skills for Academic and Social Success’’ for treating adolescents with public speaking anxiety. Changes in cognitions and effects of comorbid depression were also explored. A total of 41 adolescents between 11 and 17 years,...Show moreA social fear adolescents with and without a Social Anxiety Disorder experience very frequently is public speaking anxiety. The cognitions these adolescents have in public speaking situations play an important role in the development and maintenance of their anxiety. Because of the impairments they experience in life, it is important to start treatment. The fact that only a small proportion of adolescents with social fears receive the focussed treatment they need, and that treatment outcomes are not optimal, is problematic. Blended care, the combination of face-to-face and online therapy, is a new type of treatment that appears to be promising for the treatment of mental health problems. This study aimed to research the feasibility of the blended care module ‘’Skills for Academic and Social Success’’ for treating adolescents with public speaking anxiety. Changes in cognitions and effects of comorbid depression were also explored. A total of 41 adolescents between 11 and 17 years, recruited from high schools in Leiden, The Netherlands, participated in this study. These adolescents followed the blended care module and were asked to, among others, fill out different self-report questionnaires on public speaking anxiety (PRPSA), cognitions (CATS-N/P) and depression (CDI-2) at four timepoints. The results show that the adolescents showed a decrease in public speaking anxiety during treatment. A higher level of anxiety at the start of the treatment was associated with a higher level afterwards, but also with greater, absolute improvements. Comorbid depression was also associated with a greater, absolute reduction in public speaking anxiety and there was a decrease in depression as well. The results also show that public speaking anxiety was negatively correlated with positive cognitions and positively with different types of negative cognitions. Some of these negative cognitions decreased during the treatment and were replaced with positive cognitions. However, there was almost no association between changes in cognitions and changes in public speaking anxiety. According to these findings, the blended care module appears to be feasible for the treatment of adolescents with public speaking anxiety, of which cognitions are part, and suitable for different levels of anxiety and for when comorbid depression is present.Show less

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The Feasibility of Treating Public Speaking Anxiety in Adolescents with a Blended Care Module and the Role of Cognitions and Comorbid Depression