Transporting a school-based multicomponent treatment for adolescents to young adults with social anxiety: a pilot study

The purpose of this pilot study is to evaluate transportability of a treatment protocol, originally designed for adolescents, to young adult population with social anxiety disorder. The sample is composed of 12 subjects who met generalized social phobia criteria and presented comorbidity disorders in Axes I and II. The results prove the efficacy of this treatment with young adults, as seen in a decrease of general social anxiety measures and those specifically evaluating cognitive and behavioral symptoms. In addition, the decrease of social anxiety symptoms led to a reduction or total recovery of comorbity in Axes I and II disorders after termination of treatment. All the scales were highly sensitive to the treatment effects. Furthermore, not only the treatment protocol, but also each component and the therapists’ competence were highly scored by participants. Finally, limitations and suggestions for future investigation are discussed.