The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of the Attention Bias Modification(ABM) on college students with social anxiety symptom and to compare it with the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy(CBT).
28 students of B and D University in ...
The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of the Attention Bias Modification(ABM) on college students with social anxiety symptom and to compare it with the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy(CBT).
28 students of B and D University in Busan participated in this study. 11 of them were assigned into the ABM treatment group(experimental group), 8 of them were assigned into the CBT group(comparing group), and 9 were assigned into a control group. All participants were selected according to their score on Social Avoidance and Distress Scale(SADS).
ABM treatment and CBT were consisted of 8 sessions, progressing two times a week for a month. Participants' anxiety index was assessed before and after the therapies. Solcial Avoidance and Distress Scale(SADS), Brief-Fear of negative Evaluation Scale(B-FNE), and Social Interaction Anxiety Scale(SIAS) were used to asses the anxiety index.
The results of this study are as follow:
First, participants' anxiety in ABM treatment group showed significant decrease in SADS and B-FNE after the training. This result suggests that ABM treatment can have a positive effect on the fear of being evaluated in social situation and the decrease of anxiety.
Second, participants' anxiety in CBT group also showed significant decrease in SADS after the training. This result implicates that CBT can positively influence on the fear about social situation and the decrease of anxiety.