title: Pre-treatment shyness mindset predicts less reduction of social anxiety during exposure therapy.
abstract: This study examined the moderating role of shyness mindset on the reduction of social anxiety during exposure-based treatment. Participants (N=60) in an intensive outpatient program for anxiety disorders were assessed at pre- and post-treatment. Social performance anxiety decreased dramatically during treatment, but the amount of decrease differed as a function of pre-treatment shyness mindset. At one standard deviation above the mean on both the social performance anxiety and shyness mindset measures, an average reduction of 15 points on the social performance anxiety measure was observed. At one standard deviation above the mean on the social performance anxiety measure and one standard deviation below the mean on the shyness mindset measure, an average reduction of 27 points on the social performance anxiety measure was observed. These results suggest that targeting shyness mindset during exposure-based treatments for social anxiety disorder might increase the effectiveness of treatment for individuals with a high shyness mindset.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115, United States. dvalentiner@niu.edu
authors.forename: David P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Valentiner
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jencius
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jarek
authors.forename: Stephanie L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Gier-Lonsway
authors.forename: Patrick B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: McGrath
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007171:Implosive Therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012792:Shyness; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult