Predictors of Exposure Success in Public Speaking Anxiety

NCT02163148 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: UCSDIRB-130313
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 24
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Anxiety disorders are common and impairing. Although exposure therapy is one of the most effective treatments for anxiety, some individuals do not fully respond to treatment, and these individual differences are not well understood. Exposure therapy involves repeated, deliberate, safe engagement with a feared stimulus without the feared outcome occurring. This treatment is thought to work through a type of emotional learning called fear extinction. This study aims to look at links between fear extinction learning and exposure success, with the overall goal of better understanding who is likely to respond best to exposure therapy and why.

Conditions

Performance Anxiety

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in peak Subjective Unit of Distress (SUDS) rating from first to fourth (last) exposure

  Participants will complete 4 exposures during one 90 minute session. Change in the peak ratings on the final exposure relative to the first exposure will be the outcome measure.

  90 minutes

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Change from baseline on the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) at 2 weeks

  Baseline, week 2

• Change from baseline on the Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker (PRCS) at 2 weeks

  Baseline, week 2

Other Outcomes (1)

• Change from baseline on the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) at week 2

  Baseline, week 2

Study Arms (1)

Public Speaking Anxiety

Intervention to be administered: One speech exposure session.

Behavioral: Massed speech exposure session

Interventions

Massed speech exposure session BEHAVIORAL

One session consisting of 4 speech exposures, each 5 minutes long.

Public Speaking Anxiety

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 55 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Community sample

You may qualify if:

• Score of at least 20 on the PRCS
• Age 18-55
• English fluency

You may not qualify if:

• Psychotropic medication use in the past 4 weeks
• Past experience with exposure based therapy
• History of bipolar disorder, psychotic disorder, or substance dependence
• Current major depressive disorder of greater than moderate severity (defined as a score on the 9 item Patient Health Questionnaire of greater than 14)
• Clinically significant suicidal or homicidal ideation
• Non-removable ferrous metal
• Current significant neurological conditions
• History of loss of consciousness greater than 5 minutes duration
• Pregnant
• Claustrophobic

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of California, San Diego: lead

Study Sites (1)

UCSD Psychiatry Research

San Diego, California, 92037, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Ball TM, Knapp SE, Paulus MP, Stein MB. Brain activation during fear extinction predicts exposure success. Depress Anxiety. 2017 Mar;34(3):257-266. doi: 10.1002/da.22583. Epub 2016 Dec 6.

  PMID: 27921340 DERIVED

Study Officials

• Tali M Ball, MA

  UCSD

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: CASE ONLY
• Time Perspective: CROSS SECTIONAL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Doctoral Candidate

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 11, 2014
• First Posted: June 13, 2014
• Study Start: May 1, 2014
• Primary Completion: December 1, 2014
• Study Completion: December 1, 2014
• Last Updated: May 27, 2015

Record last verified: 2015-05

Locations

US (1)