Pilot Trial on the Contribution of Peer Leaders and Self-Compassion to Group Exposure Workshops for Socially Anxious Undergraduates
University of Colorado, Boulder
Summary
The purpose of the study is to investigate the effects of four versions of a workshop for social anxiety and public speaking stress. All participants are current University of Colorado Boulder undergraduate students. Participation in this research study lasts for approximately 8 weeks, and includes a pre-workshop questionnaire, 3 weekly workshop sessions (ranging from 2 to 3 hours each, including a 5-minute post-session questionnaire), a post-workshop questionnaire, and a 1-month follow-up questionnaire.
Description
The present study seeks to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy potential of a full factorial trial of a peer-led common humanity- and exposure-based workshop for social anxiety within a Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST) trial framework. The present study seeks to enroll and randomize participants (up to N = 200) by cohort to one of four conditions, reflecting a full factorial trial design. The inclusion of common humanity enhancements and the presence of a peer leader will each serve as independent variables, comprising of the following four study conditions: 1) common…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–30 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * Age = 18-30 * Able to read and write fluently in English * Current undergraduate students at CU * Experiencing elevated social anxiety symptoms indicated by a SPIN score ≥ 19 * Experiencing moderate to high communication anxiety indicated by a PRCA- 24 score ≥ 59 * Open to receiving help for social anxiety or public speaking fears indicated by a help seeking score of ≥ 3 out of 5 (at both screening timepoints as explained below) * Able to voluntarily consent to participation * Able to participate fully in the study (including in the in-person group workshops and in surve…
Interventions
- BehavioralGroup Exposure for Social Anxiety
Group exposure therapy for social anxiety and public speaking fears.
- BehavioralSelf-Compassion Enhanced Group Exposure Therapy for Social Anxiety
Group exposure therapy for social anxiety and public speaking fears plus piloted exercises from the investigators' previous studies among socially anxious undergraduates (Slivjak et al., 2022; Slivjak \& Arch, in preparation), refined during the investigators' quality improvement project, that are designed to enhance compassion.
- BehavioralPeer-Enhanced Group Exposure Therapy for Social Anxiety
Group exposure therapy for social anxiety and public speaking fears facilitated by a pair of doctoral student and undergraduate student co-facilitators who explicitly use appropriate self-disclosure to establish the co-facilitators as individuals with lived experiences of social anxiety and public speaking fears.
- BehavioralPeer and Self-Compassion Enhanced Group Exposure Therapy for Social Anxiety
Group exposure therapy for social anxiety and public speaking fears plus piloted exercises from the investigators' previous studies among socially anxious undergraduates (Slivjak et al., 2022; Slivjak \& Arch, in preparation), refined during the investigators' quality improvement project, that are designed to enhance compassion. These groups are facilitated by a pair of doctoral student and undergraduate student co-facilitators who explicitly use appropriate self-disclosure to establish the co-facilitators as individuals with lived experiences of social anxiety and public speaking fears.
Location
- Renee Crown Wellness Institute and Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Colorado BoulderBoulder, Colorado