title: A randomized trial of Internet-delivered treatment for social anxiety disorder in high school students.
abstract: Internet-based cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) has been shown effective for university students with social anxiety disorder (SAD) and public speaking fears. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the promising results can be transferred to high school students suffering from this condition. A total of 19 speech-anxious high school students with SAD were randomized either into 9 weeks of Internet-delivered CBT or to a wait-list control group. Significant improvements were found on measures of social anxiety, general anxiety, and depression. Effects were maintained at 1-year follow-up. The average within- and between-group effect sizes (Cohen's d) for the primary social anxiety scales at posttest were 0.98 and 1.38, respectively. However, the average number of completed modules in the CBT program was low. Although compliance can be improved, the results suggest that Internet-based guided self-help is effective in the treatment of high school students with SAD.
authors.affiliation: a School of Law, Psychology and Social Work, Örebro University , Örebro.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tillfors
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Andersson
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ekselius
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Furmark
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lewenhaupt
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karlsson
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Carlbring
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D019114:Remote Consultation; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Internet; cognitive behavioral therapy; high school students; public speaking; social anxiety disorder