Efficacy of an unguided internet‐based self‐help intervention for social anxiety disorder in university students: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Objectives Internet‐ and mobile‐based interventions (IMIs) offer the opportunity to deliver mental health treatments on a large scale. This randomized controlled trial evaluated the efficacy of an unguided IMI (StudiCare SAD) for university students with social anxiety disorder (SAD). Methods University students (N = 200) diagnosed with SAD were randomly assigned to an IMI or a waitlist control group (WLC) with full access to treatment as usual. StudiCare SAD consists of nine sessions. The primary outcome was SAD symptoms at posttreatment (10 weeks), assessed via the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS). Secondary outcomes included depression, quality of life, fear of positive evaluation, general psychopathology, and interpersonal problems. Results Results indicated moderate to large effect sizes in favor of StudiCare SAD compared with WLC for SAD at posttest for the primary outcomes (SPS: d = 0.76; SIAS: d = 0.55, p < 0.001). Effects on all secondary outcomes were significant and in favor of the intervention group. Conclusion StudiCare SAD has proven effective in reducing SAD symptoms in university students. Providing IMIs may be a promising way to reach university students with SAD at an early stage with an effective treatment.

Barriers of mental health treatment utilization among first‐year college students: First cross‐national results from the WHO World Mental Health International College Student Initiative

“…It is plausible to think in light of this finding that digital delivered self‐help approaches, which do not require the patient to disclose their problems to others (Ebert et al, ; Ebert, Cuijpers, Muñoz, & Baumeister, ), might be ideally suited to students reporting such barriers, in which case offering such interventions might help increase treatment among this hard‐to‐reach segment of the student population. This possibility is in line with the findings of another paper in this issue in which approximately one third of the students participating in an internet‐based treatment for social anxiety disorder indicated that they would be unwilling to use face‐to face psychotherapy (Kählke et al, ). Future research should explore to which extend students that are not willing to seek help with traditional forms of health care can be reached using such digital approaches.…”

Introduction to the special issue: The WHO World Mental Health International College Student (WMH‐ICS) initiative

“…Based on these results, in conjunction with the finding of high unmet need for treatment among college students in the earlier Bruffaerts et al paper, we anticipate a long-term program of experiments along these lines to be carried out in conjunction with the annual WMH-ICS surveys. The second intervention paper, by Kählke et al (2018), presents the results of one of the first randomized treatment trials conducted within the context of WMH-ICS. That trial focused on social anxiety disorder, a commonly occurring and sometimes seriously impairing disorder among college students.…”

“…The second intervention paper, by Kählke et al (2018), presents the results of one of the first randomized treatment trials conducted within the context of WMH‐ICS. That trial focused on social anxiety disorder, a commonly occurring and sometimes seriously impairing disorder among college students.…”

Prevention of eating disorders at universities: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…This study was conducted as part of the WHO World Mental Health International College Student initiative (WMH‐ICS). The WMH‐ICS aims to obtain precise cross‐national data on the prevalence, incidence, and correlates of mental, substance, and behavioral problems among college students worldwide (Auerbach et al, , ; Mortier et al, ); to describe patterns of service use (Bruffaerts et al, ), barriers to treatment (Ebert et al, ), and unmet need for treatment; to investigate the associations of these disorders with role function in academic and other life domains (Alonso et al, ; Alonso et al, ); to evaluate the effects of various preventive and clinical interventions on student mental health, functioning, and academic performance (Harrer, Adam, Baumeister, et al, ; Harrer, Adam, Fleischmann, et al, ; Kählke et al, ); and to develop precision medicine clinical decision support tools to help determine the best treatment for each student (Cuijpers et al, ). Both the WHM‐ICS's meta‐analysis initiative and this study have been registered using PROSPERO (CRD42017068758; CRD42018088987).…”