Psychological Group-Treatments of Social Anxiety Disorder: A Meta-Analysis |
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Authors: | Hanna Wersebe Marit Sijbrandij Pim Cuijpers |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Clinical Psychology, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.; 2. EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.; 3. Leuphana University Lüneburg, Lueneburg, Germany.; University of Melbourne, Australia, |
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Abstract: | BackgroundA few meta-analyses have examined psychological treatments for a social anxiety disorder (SAD). This is the first meta-analysis that examines the effects of cognitive behavioural group therapies (CBGT) for SAD compared to control on symptoms of anxiety.MethodAfter a systematic literature search in PubMed, Cochrane, PsychINFO and Embase was conducted; eleven studies were identified that met the inclusion criteria. The studies had to be randomized controlled studies in which individuals with a diagnosed SAD were treated with cognitive-behavioural group therapy (CBGT) and compared with a control group. The overall quality of the studies was moderate.ResultsThe pooled effect size indicated that the difference between intervention and control conditions was 0.53 (96% CI: 0.33–0.73), in favour of the intervention. This corresponds to a NNT 3.24. Heterogeneity was low to moderately high in all analyses. There was some indication of publication bias.ConclusionsIt was found that psychological group-treatments CBGT are more effective than control conditions in patients with SAD. Since heterogeneity between studies was high, more research comparing group psychotherapies for SAD to control is needed. |
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