Effectiveness of exposure and cognitive restructuring in young adults with social anxiety disorder

The purpose of this research is to analyse the efficacy of the psychological components, exposure and cognitive restructuring, used as single techniques and depending on their different combinations on social anxiety variables: the “fear of negative evaluation” (FNE; Watson & Friend, 1969) and the “social avoidance and distress” (SAD; Watson & Friend, 1969). The sample was made up of 85 patients diagnosed with social phobia (APA, 1994), who were randomly assigned to three different treatments: a) exposure and cognitive restructuring components, both integrated in every session (10 sessions); b) exposure block (5 sessions) followed by cognitive restructuring block (5 sessions) and c) a control group that after three months was assigned to the treatment cognitive restructuring block (5 sessions) followed by exposure block (5 sessions). Results show that these different experimental groups were very effective in the main evaluations, without significant differences between them; the psychological components used and their different combinations showed a similar level of efficacy in the way and modality in which they were used.