A recent study examined a novel experimental technique that might aid in investigating social anxiety disorder therapies.
The researchers created a fully online social stress test that mimicked the symptoms of social anxiety disorder. The findings were published in the Psychiatry Research journal.
Social Anxiety Disorder
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a devastating condition characterized by an intense fear of social engagement. Treatments for social anxiety disorder are limited, and its remission rate is the lowest of any anxiety illness.
Nathan TM Huneke and his coauthors created a unique experimental approach to discover possible therapy possibilities for SAD.
The researchers developed the Internet-Based Stress Test for Social Anxiety Disorder (ITSSAD). The ITSSAD is designed similarly to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), in which participants are asked to complete a public speaking activity to induce stress and anxiety.
In the study, participants were tasked with getting to know another individual rather than public speaking.
Huneke and colleagues recommended that this latter challenge targeted a specific SAD characteristic rather than general stress. The ITSSAD, in particular, may be used online, making it a cost-effective and attractive choice for remote study.
The researchers enlisted 20 people with moderate to severe social anxiety symptoms to conduct their online stress test. The majority (85%) of the subjects, who ranged in age from 18 to 45, were female. Participants took part in a confidential online testing session after completing various personality questionnaires.
Participants were informed that a social interaction activity requiring them to get to know another person utilizing videoconferencing software would shortly be taking place.
Participants then had a five-minute waiting period before engaging in a five-minute videoconference conversation with the researcher.
Participants were informed that a panel of professionals, whose cameras were off but judging the performance, were filming their performance. The conference actually comprised four dummy accounts operated by the researcher.
Subjective anxiety and mood were assessed three times: at the start, after the anticipation phase, and after the social task.
The researchers investigated how participants’ anxiety and mood varied during the trial using various statistical approaches.
As predicted, participants’ anxiety increased throughout the anticipation phase and remained high following the social task.
The researchers then discovered evidence that the participants’ anxiety was primarily related to social anxiety symptoms rather than generic ones.
These findings show that social anxiety symptoms may be induced by utilizing a social interaction task and videoconferencing software. Social engagement can trigger a social-evaluative threat, a crucial factor in developing SAD.
