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...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
Introduction. Because public speaking anxiety is among the most common social fears, yet still has a knowledge gap, the aim of our study was to 1) investigate in how far adolescents’ behavior when...Show moreIntroduction. Because public speaking anxiety is among the most common social fears, yet still has a knowledge gap, the aim of our study was to 1) investigate in how far adolescents’ behavior when presenting is related to their reported level of public speaking anxiety [PSA], and 2) explore if self-perception plays a role in this relationship. It was expected that adolescents with PSA show less expressiveness, appear less confident, and show more agitated behavior. Furthermore, we expected that self-perception plays a mediating role between PSA and behavior. Method. The sample consisted of 41 adolescents (11-17 years old) who met the criteria for a social anxiety disorder, and were asked to give a presentation while their behavior was coded for analysis. However, only 14 participants had all the necessary data for both analyses. Data was collected using the Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety [PRPSA], Speech Performance Observation Scale for Youth [SPOSY], and the Competence Perception Scale for Adolescents [CBSA]. Data was analyzed using a MANOVA and through mediation analysis. Results. No significant correlations were found between PSA and expressiveness (p = .532), PSA and lack of confidence (p = .118), or PSA and agitation (p = .833). Furthermore, results showed that PSA and self-perception were correlated (p = .011), but self-perception and lack of confidence (p = .275), or self-perception and agitation (p = .100) were not. For self-perception and expressiveness, we did find a significant result, but the proportion mediated effect indicated no partial mediation. Discussion. Based on our results, we cannot accept our hypotheses. In our study, there is no relation between PSA and behavior while presenting, nor does self-perception play a mediating role. We expect that we did not find significant results due to our low sample size and not having a control group. Another possibility is that adolescents have learned more presenting skills by being exposed to presenting in school. Because knowledge on this topic is scarce, our study is a valuable contribution to an underrepresented topic. However, more research is needed to understand how public speaking anxiety, self-perception and behavior interact with each other.Show less
Research suggests different trait constellations between volunteers and non-volunteers. To this date, this has not been extended to possible personality trait constellation differences between...Show moreResearch suggests different trait constellations between volunteers and non-volunteers. To this date, this has not been extended to possible personality trait constellation differences between different fields of volunteering. The current study aimed to compare sports and mental health volunteers with non-volunteers, by applying the Five-Factor Model of Personality (Big Five) using the NEO-FFI 30. The study aimed to investigate, with the use of a short questionnaire, whether mental illness exposure among volunteers, their first-degree relatives, or close friends might be a factor that influences their likelihood to volunteer in a mental health setting. To answer these questions, 281 people were recruited for the study, of whom 32 were volunteers from the mental health organisation @ease, 54 from sports organisations, and 93 people that do not volunteer. Using Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) to investigate differences in personality traits, and Chi-Square analysis to investigate mental illness exposure. Results were unable to replicate the suggested different trait constellation between volunteer groups. Only openness to experiences appeared to be significantly higher in mental health volunteers. Results regarding mental illness exposure revealed significant differences between mental health volunteers and sports volunteers, as well as non-volunteers, suggesting a higher exposure to mental illnesses in mental health volunteers themselves, in their first- degree family relatives and close friends. Different personality trait constellations in different fields of volunteering were, besides openness, not supported. The findings imply that mental illness exposure appears to be higher in mental health volunteers.Show less
