Brief cognitive behavior group therapy for social anxiety among medical students: A randomized placebo-controlled trial

• Published in: Asian journal of psychiatry Vol. 55; p. 102526
• Main Authors: Samantaray, Narendra Nath, Nath, Bijaylaxmi, Behera, Nirupama, Mishra, Abinash, Singh, Preeti, Sudhir, Paulomi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01-01-2021
• Subjects: Brief; Cognitive-behavioral group therapy; College; Medical students; Randomized placebo-controlled trial; Social anxiety disorder; Social phobia; Medical students; Cognitive-behavioral group therapy; Social phobia; College; Social anxiety disorder; Randomized placebo-controlled trial; Brief
• ISSN: 1876-2018; 1876-2026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102526

•Perhaps, the present study is the first randomized, attention placebo-controlled, study of bCBGT for SAD in medical students.•The study evinced bCBGT as a pragmatic treatment for SAD where adequate resource availability is a concern.•bCBGT treatment effects were maintained over a two-month follow-up.•A longer follow-up, replications in samples with diverse characteristics are required to generalize results to a broader population.
To compare brief cognitive behavior group therapy (bCBGT) for social anxiety disorder (SAD) to a credible placebo, psychoeducational-supportive therapy (PST), in a sample of medical students.
This was a single-center, rater-blind, randomized, attention placebo-controlled, parallel-group study. Participants were 50 consenting undergraduate medical students of a state government medical college in Cuttack, India having a primary diagnosis of SAD, who recieved 6 weekly 2-h group sessions. Assessments were carried out at baseline, post intervention and at two-month follow. Independent raters assessed the participants on the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale and Clinical Global Impression- Improvement scale (CGI-I). Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN), a self-rated measure, was administered in the same periods.
bCBGT group improved significantly across periods from pre-treatment to post-treatment and from pre-treatment to two-month follow-up. bCBGT was statistically superior to PST at the post-treatment and follow-up assessments and showed large effect sizes at both post-treatment and follow-up.
A 6-session bCBGT is an efficacious treatment for SAD among medical students. A longer follow-up and replication in other groups, and clinical settings are necessary for generalization to a broader SAD population.