| 1. |
- Furmark, Tomas, et al.
(författare)
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Guided and unguided self-help for social anxiety disorder : randomised controlled trial
- 2009
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Ingår i: British Journal of Psychiatry. - : Royal College of Psychiatrists. - 0007-1250 .- 1472-1465. ; 195:5, s. 440-447
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Internet-delivered self-help programmes with added guidance have shown efficacy in social anxiety disorder, unguided self-help has been insufficiently studied. Aims To evaluate the efficacy of guided and unguided self-help social anxiety disorder. Method Participants followed a cognitive-behavioural self-help programme in the form of either pure bibliotherapy or an internet-based treatment with therapist guidance and online group discussions. A subsequent trial was conducted to evaluate treatment specificity. Participants (n=235) were randomised to one of three conditions in the first trial, or one of four conditions in the second. Results Pure bibliotherapy and the internet-based treatment were better than waiting list on measures of social anxiety, general anxiety, depression and quality of life. The internet-based therapy had the highest effect sizes, but directly comparable effects were noted for bibliotherapy augmented with online group discussions. Gains were well maintained a year later. Conclusions Unguided self-help through bibliotherapy can produce enduring improvement for individuals with social anxiety disorder.
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| 2. |
- Tillfors, Maria, 1963-, et al.
(författare)
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Treating university students with social phobia and public speaking fears : Internet delivered self-help with or without live group exposure sessions
- 2008
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Ingår i: Depression and anxiety (Print). - : Hindawi Limited. - 1091-4269 .- 1520-6394. ; 25:8, s. 708-717
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: This study investigated the efficacy of an Internet-based self-help program with minimal therapist contact via e-mail for Swedish university students with social phobia and public speaking fears. The main objective was to test if the Internet-based self-help program would be more effective if five live group exposure sessions were added. METHODS: Thirty-eight students meeting the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 4th edition criteria for social phobia were randomized into two different treatment groups: Internet delivered cognitive behavior therapy combined with five group exposure sessions (ICBT+ exp) or the Internet program alone (ICBT). RESULTS: Results were analyzed on an intention-to-treat basis. Both treatment groups showed significant improvement from pre- to post-test, and from pre-test to 1-year follow-up, on all measured dimensions (social anxiety, general anxiety, depression levels, and quality of life). For both the groups, the average within-group effect sizes for the primary social anxiety scales, expressed as Cohen's d, were comparable to those seen in traditionally administered cognitive behavioral therapy both at post-test and at 1- year follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the Internet-based self-help program on its own is efficient in the treatment of university students with social phobia. Adding group exposure sessions did not improve the outcome significantly.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Green-Landell, Malin, et al.
(författare)
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Evaluation of the psychometric properties of a modified version of the Social Phobia Screening Questionnaire for use in adolescents.
- 2009
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Ingår i: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1753-2000. ; 3:1, s. 36-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Social phobia (social anxiety disorder - SAD) is a rather common but often undetected and undertreated psychiatric condition in youths. Screening of SAD in young individuals in community samples is thus important in preventing negative outcomes. The present study is the first report on the psychometric properties of the Social Phobia Screening Questionnaire for Children and adolescents (SPSQ-C). METHODS: The SPSQ-C was administered to a community sample of high-school students. Test-retest reliability over three weeks was evaluated (n = 127) and internal consistency was calculated for items measuring level of fear in eight social situations. To measure concurrent validity, subjects who reported SAD on at least one occasion and randomly selected non-cases were blindly interviewed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis-I disorders (SCID-I), as gold standard (n = 51). RESULTS: A moderate test-retest reliability, r = .60 (P < .01), and a satisfactory alpha coefficient of .78 was found. Values of sensitivity and specificity were 71% and 86% respectively, and area under the curve (AUC) was .79. Positive likelihood ratio (LR+) showed that a positive screening result was five times more likely to be correct than to reflect a non-case. Negative likelihood ratio (LR -) was .34. In addition, positive predictive value was 45% and negative predictive value was 95%. The prevalence of self-reported SAD was found to be 7.2% at the first assessment. CONCLUSION: The SPSQ-C is a short and psychometrically sound questionnaire for screening of SAD in adolescents, with the advantage of being based on the DSM-IV criteria.
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| 5. |
- Green Landell, Malin, et al.
(författare)
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Social phobia in Swedish adolescents : Prevalence and gender differences
- 2008
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Ingår i: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0933-7954 .- 1433-9285. ; 44:1, s. 1-7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of self-reported social phobia in a community sample of Swedish adolescents in junior high school, at the risk-period for developing social phobia. Of particular interest was to investigate gender differences in prevalence across ages. Prevalence of sub-threshold social phobia was also studied. Methods Students in grades 6–8 (aged 12–14) from seventeen schools in five Swedish municipalities were screened by means of a self-report questionnaire, the social phobia screening questionnaire-for children (SPSQ-C). Results Data from a sample of 2,128 students were analysed and showed a point-prevalence rate of 4.4% (95%CI 3.5–5.2) and a significant gender difference (6.6% girls vs. 1.8% boys, P < 0.001). No significant differences in prevalence of probable cases emerged across the ages. At sub-threshold level, marked social fear of at least one social situation was reported by 13.8% of the total group. “Speaking in front of class” and “calling someone unfamiliar on the phone” were the most feared social situations. In the social phobia group, 91.4% reported impairment in the school-domain due to their social fear. Conclusion Social phobia is a common psychiatric condition in Swedish adolescents, especially in girls. As impairment in the school-domain is reported to a high degree, professionals and teachers need to recognize social phobia in adolescents so that help in overcoming the difficulties can be offered.
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| 6. |
- Tillfors, Maria, 1963-, et al.
(författare)
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Relationships between social anxiety, depressive symptoms, and antisocial behaviors : Evidence from a prospective study of adolescent boys
- 2009
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Ingår i: Journal of Anxiety Disorders. - Amsterdam : Elsevier BV. - 0887-6185 .- 1873-7897. ; 23:5, s. 718-724
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Little is understood about generalized and non-generalized social anxiety disorder (SAD) and their associations With co-occurring internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescence. In the present study, we investigated adolescent boys with SAD symptoms and considered depressive symptoms as well as antisocial behaviors when looking for patterns during two developmental time periods: junior high and high school. Participants in the analyses were part of a longitudinal study. No patterns were found linking antisocial problems and non-generalized SAD in either junior high or high school. Furthermore, it was uncommon for youths in the non-generalized SAD Subgroup to develop comorbidity over time. The generalized SAD subgroup of boys, however, was likely to develop comorbidity either with depressive symptoms only or with depressive symptoms and antisocial tendencies. Our findings Suggest that developmental pathways for SAD subgroups may differ.
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| 7. |
- Tillfors, Maria, 1963-, et al.
(författare)
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Social phobia and avoidant personality disorder : Are they separate diagnostic entities or do they reflect a spectrum of social anxiety?
- 2009
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Ingår i: Israel journal of psychiatry and related sciences. - Tel-Aviv : Mediafarm Group. - 0333-7308. ; 46:1, s. 25-33
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Axis I disorder social phobia and the Axis II disorder avoidant personality disorder were first introduced in the DSM nomenclature in 1980. Since then a major nosological theme in research has concerned whether or not social phobia and avoidant personality disorder represent distinct clinical categories. Our main aim was to summarize both the current situat regarding this conceptual debate, as well as what we still do not know. In the present review we describe the evolution of these disorders as they have been addressed over time, from their introduction in the DSM-III system to their current descriptions in the DSM-IV. Thereafter, earlier empirical literature concerning this conceptual debate is evaluated, with the main focus on comorbidity between social phobia and avoidant personality disorder. The PsycINFO and PubMed electronic databases were searched for studies, and complementary searches of references in articles and books were conducted. To conclude, the studies summarized provide support for the view that social phobia and avoidant personality disorder are more than arbitrary cutoffs along a continuum of social anxiety.
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| 8. |
- Tillfors, Maria, 1963-, et al.
(författare)
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Social phobia in Swedish university students : prevalence, subgroups and avoidant behavior
- 2007
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Ingår i: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0933-7954 .- 1433-9285. ; 42:1, s. 79-86
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Public speaking is a common situation that university students have to endure. This situation is feared or avoided by most individuals with social phobia, which has been associated with low levels of educational attainment. However, epidemiological data on social phobia in university students are scarce. The present study examined the prevalence of social phobia and its subgroups in a university student population. Demographic characteristics and avoidant behavior in educational settings were also examined. METHODS: The Social Phobia Screening Questionnaire (SPSQ)--a validated and DSM-IV compatible instrument, was distributed as a postal survey to 753 randomly selected university students in Sweden. Interpretable questionnaires were obtained from 523 students (69.5%). To investigate subgroups, students who met the SPSQ diagnostic criteria of social phobia were analyzed by hierarchical cluster analysis. RESULTS: The point prevalence of social phobia among the Swedish university students was 16.1%, comparable with 15.6% previously reported for the general population. Two clusters were distinguished consisting of students scoring either low (discrete subgroup) or high (generalized subgroup) on all cluster variables. The discrete subgroup was more common representing 83% of the cases. Social phobia was associated with use of dysfunctional avoidant strategies in educational situations and in anticipation of public speaking. The disorder was less common among students following a pedagogic university program. CONCLUSIONS: Social phobia was highly prevalent among Swedish university students, most cases pertaining to a mild or discrete form of the disorder. The commonness and severity of social phobia in students did not deviate significantly from the general population suggesting that socially anxious individuals do apply for higher education. However, since avoidance and low educational attainment are commonly reported features, future studies should investigate whether sufferers of social phobia underachieve or abolish their studies prematurely.
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