The Effect of Shame on Patients With Social Anxiety Disorder in Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background Prior research has demonstrated the efficacy of internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT) for social anxiety disorder (SAD). However, it is unclear how shame influences the efficacy of this treatment. Objective This study aimed to investigate the role shame played in the ICBT treatment process for participants with SAD. Methods A total of 104 Chinese participants (73 females; age: mean 24.92, SD 4.59 years) were randomly assigned to self-help ICBT, guided ICBT, or wait list control groups. For the guided ICBT group, half of the participants were assigned to the group at a time due to resource constraints. This led to a time difference among the three groups. Participants were assessed before and immediately after the intervention using the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS), Social Phobia Scale (SPS), and Experience of Shame Scale (ESS). Results Participants’ social anxiety symptoms (self-help: differences between pre- and posttreatment SIAS=−12.71; Cohen d=1.01; 95% CI 9.08 to 16.32; P<.001 and differences between pre- and posttreatment SPS=11.13; Cohen d=0.89; 95% CI 6.98 to 15.28; P<.001; guided: SIAS=19.45; Cohen d=1.20; 95% CI 14.67 to 24.24; P<.001 and SPS=13.45; Cohen d=0.96; 95% CI 8.26 to 18.64; P<.001) and shame proneness (self-help: differences between pre- and posttreatment ESS=7.34; Cohen d=0.75; 95% CI 3.99 to 10.69; P<.001 and guided: differences between pre- and posttreatment ESS=9.97; Cohen d=0.88; 95% CI 5.36 to 14.57; P<.001) in both the self-help and guided ICBT groups reduced significantly after treatment, with no significant differences between the two intervention groups. Across all the ICBT sessions, the only significant predictors of reductions in shame proneness were the average number of words participants wrote in the exposure module (β=.222; SE 0.175; t96=2.317; P=.02) and gender (β=−.33; SE 0.002; t77=−3.13; P=.002). We also found a mediation effect, wherein reductions in shame fully mediated the relationship between the average number of words participants wrote in the exposure module and reductions in social anxiety symptoms (SIAS: β=−.0049; SE 0.0016; 95% CI −0.0085 to −0.0019 and SPS: β=−.0039; SE 0.0015; 95% CI −0.0075 to −0.0012). Conclusions The findings of this study suggest that participants’ engagement in the exposure module in ICBT alleviates social anxiety symptoms by reducing the levels of shame proneness. Our study provides a new perspective for understanding the role of shame in the treatment of social anxiety. The possible mechanisms of the mediation effect and clinical implications are discussed. Trial Registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR1900021952; http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=36977

Digital mental health in China: a systematic review

“…Ten studies investigated the effectiveness of internet-based programmes for people with anxiety, depression, trauma, and ADHD. Two RCTs (Lin et al, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2020 ) and two non-RCTs (Chen et al, 2020 ; Kishimoto et al, 2016 ) tested internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (ICBT) for social anxiety. All four studies showed ICBT reduced the severity of social anxiety, with up to 42% of participants in one study (compared to 20% of participants in the control group; Lin et al, 2020 ) showing significant improvements in social anxiety symptoms post-treatment.…”

“…Results showed a 44% improvement rate for participants in the intervention group using the TKS Scale. Another RCT study (Wang et al, 2020 ) explored the effects on reducing shame, a potential mediator of social anxiety. Both guided and unguided internet-based programmes reduced shame proneness compared to the control group.…”

Italia Ti Ascolto [Italy, I am listening]: an app-based group psychological intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Overall, in the adult population, research shows a significant efficacy of both self-help iCBT and guided iCBT in anxiety reduction in individuals diagnosed with a social anxiety disorder (Wang et al, 2020b) and of mindfulnessbased online interventions (Questret, Cropley, & Fife-Schaw, 2018;Segal et al, 2020). Finally, Lindegaard and colleagues (2020) investigated the differences in online interventions' efficacy based on cognitive-behavioral and psychodynamic approaches (Lis, Parolin, Calvo, Zennaro, Meyer, 2007;Benzi, Milesi, & Parolin, 2021); researchers found no differences regarding their effectiveness, but both treatments significantly reduced anxiety symptoms.…”

Italia Ti Ascolto [Italy, I am listening]: an app-based group psychological intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Overall, in the adult population, research shows a significant efficacy of both self-help iCBT and guided iCBT in anxiety reduction in individuals diagnosed with a social anxiety disorder (Wang et al, 2020b) and of mindfulness-based online interventions (Questret, Cropley, & Fife-Schaw, 2018;Segal et al, 2020). Finally, Lindegaard and colleagues (2020) investigated the differences in online interventions' efficacy based on cognitive-behavioral and psychodynamic approaches (Lis, Parolin, Calvo, Zennaro, Meyer, 2007;Benzi, Milesi, & Parolin, 2021); researchers found no differences regarding their effectiveness, but both treatments significantly reduced anxiety symptoms.…”