Does Cognitive Behavior Therapy Change Socially Anxious Adolescents’ Behavior during a Public Speaking Task?

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, vol. 54, pp. 14

Abstract

Public speaking is one of the most commonly feared situations by socially anxious adolescents, often prompting behavioral anxiety markers including gaze avoidance and speech disruptions. While the potential adverse social consequences of behavioral anxiety markers in public speaking contexts have been established, research into how these markers might alter through cognitive behavior therapy is still in its infancy. In this preliminary study, we investigated changes in gaze behavior and speech disruptions from before to after 12 weeks of disorder-specific group cognitive behavior therapy among 41 adolescents aged 11-17 years (M = 14.46, 48.78% girls) with social anxiety disorder. Participants spoke for five minutes in front of a pre-recorded classroom audience while wearing an eye-tracker, before and after the Skills for Academic and Social Success program. Following treatment, we found an increase in frequency of gaze towards the faces of the audience while speaking, with greater changes among older participants. There were no changes in speech disruptions at the group level. We conclude that therapy may have a positive effect on gaze behavior, and discuss the clinical implications and opportunities for future research in this emerging field of study.

Authors 5

1. Sara L. M. Velthuizen corresponding Aachen Faculty of Social Sciences

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Social Sciences, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, South Holland, Leiden, 2333, The Netherlands. s.l.m.velthuizen@fsw.leidenuniv.nl

2. Esther van den Bos Aachen Faculty of Social Sciences

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Social Sciences, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, South Holland, Leiden, 2333, The Netherlands

3. Anne C. Miers Aachen Faculty of Social Sciences

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Social Sciences, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, South Holland, Leiden, 2333, The Netherlands

4. Jiemiao Chen Aachen Faculty of Social Sciences

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Social Sciences, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, South Holland, Leiden, 2333, The Netherlands

5. P. Michiel Westenberg Aachen Faculty of Social Sciences

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Social Sciences, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, South Holland, Leiden, 2333, The Netherlands