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A novel procedure to investigate social anxiety using videoconferencing software:: A proof-of-concept study

A novel procedure to investigate social anxiety using videoconferencing software:: A proof-of-concept study
A novel procedure to investigate social anxiety using videoconferencing software:: A proof-of-concept study
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is very common and can be significantly disabling. New treatments are needed as the remission rate for SAD is the lowest of all the anxiety disorders. Experimental medicine models, in which features resembling a clinical disorder are experimentally induced, are a cost-effective and timely approach to explore potential novel treatments for psychiatric disorders. Following the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, there is a need to develop experimental medicine models that can be carried out remotely. We developed a novel procedure to investigate SAD (the InterneT-based Stress test for Social Anxiety Disorder; ITSSAD) that can be carried out entirely online by a single investigator, potentially reducing costs and maximising internal reliability. The
procedure involves an anticipatory period followed by a naturalistic social interaction task. In a sample of 20 non-treatment-seeking volunteers with symptoms of SAD, the ITSSAD induced significant subjective anxiety and
reduced positive affect. Further, increased social anxiety symptoms at baseline predicted increased anxiety during the social interaction task. This protocol needs further validation with physiological measures. The ITSSAD is a new tool for researchers to investigate mechanisms underlying social anxiety disorder.
Anxiety disorders, Experimental methods, Mental health, Social anxiety, Social anxiety disorder
0022-3956
Huneke, Nathan
7e4a84ba-5aed-4966-adf2-58a92a0b4284
Rowlett, Hannah
64ebbba7-07a2-4c29-a28c-ec845271ee39
Hyde, Joshua
0e533d40-4833-4d52-812f-495d31250d5a
McEwan, Alexander
ce037a9e-1e96-4791-b4da-922f4bab3bda
Maryan, Louise
e7a13c30-b77a-43d0-8d49-675735e00585
Baldwin, David S.
1beaa192-0ef1-4914-897a-3a49fc2ed15e
Garner, Matthew
3221c5b3-b951-4fec-b456-ec449e4ce072
Huneke, Nathan
7e4a84ba-5aed-4966-adf2-58a92a0b4284
Rowlett, Hannah
64ebbba7-07a2-4c29-a28c-ec845271ee39
Hyde, Joshua
0e533d40-4833-4d52-812f-495d31250d5a
McEwan, Alexander
ce037a9e-1e96-4791-b4da-922f4bab3bda
Maryan, Louise
e7a13c30-b77a-43d0-8d49-675735e00585
Baldwin, David S.
1beaa192-0ef1-4914-897a-3a49fc2ed15e
Garner, Matthew
3221c5b3-b951-4fec-b456-ec449e4ce072

Huneke, Nathan, Rowlett, Hannah, Hyde, Joshua, McEwan, Alexander, Maryan, Louise, Baldwin, David S. and Garner, Matthew (2022) A novel procedure to investigate social anxiety using videoconferencing software:: A proof-of-concept study. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 316, [114770]. (doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114770).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is very common and can be significantly disabling. New treatments are needed as the remission rate for SAD is the lowest of all the anxiety disorders. Experimental medicine models, in which features resembling a clinical disorder are experimentally induced, are a cost-effective and timely approach to explore potential novel treatments for psychiatric disorders. Following the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, there is a need to develop experimental medicine models that can be carried out remotely. We developed a novel procedure to investigate SAD (the InterneT-based Stress test for Social Anxiety Disorder; ITSSAD) that can be carried out entirely online by a single investigator, potentially reducing costs and maximising internal reliability. The
procedure involves an anticipatory period followed by a naturalistic social interaction task. In a sample of 20 non-treatment-seeking volunteers with symptoms of SAD, the ITSSAD induced significant subjective anxiety and
reduced positive affect. Further, increased social anxiety symptoms at baseline predicted increased anxiety during the social interaction task. This protocol needs further validation with physiological measures. The ITSSAD is a new tool for researchers to investigate mechanisms underlying social anxiety disorder.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 3 August 2022
e-pub ahead of print date: 4 August 2022
Published date: October 2022
Additional Information: Funding Information: Conduct of the research was supported by funding awarded to NTMH by the Medical Research Council (grant number MR/T000902/1 ). Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s)
Keywords: Anxiety disorders, Experimental methods, Mental health, Social anxiety, Social anxiety disorder

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 469544
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/469544
ISSN: 0022-3956
PURE UUID: 7600f056-e550-49a9-8e64-a254d7715186
ORCID for Nathan Huneke: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-5981-6707
ORCID for David S. Baldwin: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-3343-0907
ORCID for Matthew Garner: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-9481-2226

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Date deposited: 16 Sep 2022 17:10
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:59

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Contributors

Author: Nathan Huneke ORCID iD
Author: Hannah Rowlett
Author: Joshua Hyde
Author: Alexander McEwan
Author: Louise Maryan
Author: Matthew Garner ORCID iD

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