NCT03932032

Targeting Attention Orienting to Social Threat to Reduce Social Anxiety in Youth

• Status: Active Not Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 260 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Florida International University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 10 Years – 14 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This two-site study is a test of Attention Bias Modification Treatment (ABMT) among 260 youths ages 10 to 14 years with social anxiety disorder. One-half of participants will receive 8 sessions of computer administered ABMT and the other half of participants will receive 8 sessions of computer administered Neutral Control Task (NCT). The investigators hypothesize that a biomarker of attention to social threat measured using electroencephalography (EEG) and ratings of social anxiety severity will be lower in participants who receive ABMT compared to participants who receive NCT.

Conditions

• Social Anxiety Disorder of Childhood

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Attention Bias Modification Treatment	At each of eight sessions, participants complete 160 computer administered trials wherein a pair of threatening stimuli and neutral stimuli is presented simultaneously and then followed immediately by a probe. The probe always replaces the neutral stimulus and never replaces the threatening stimulus. The intervention is based on the idea that attention can be shaped via repetitive computer based training methods, and training attention toward neutral stimuli will lead to a reduction in social anxiety.
BEHAVIORAL	Neutral Control Task	At each of eight sessions, participants complete 160 computer administered trials wherein a pair of neutral stimuli is presented simultaneously and then followed immediately by a probe. NCT matches ABMT on duration, format, and number of trials, but does not engage attention to social threat and does not train attention.

Timeline

• Start date: 2019-07-01
• Primary completion: 2026-03-31
• Completion: 2026-03-31
• First posted: 2019-04-30
• Last updated: 2025-05-01

Locations

2 sites across 1 country: United States