NCT04470882

Use of Safety Behaviors in Exposure Therapy for Arachnophobia

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 59 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Nevada, Reno · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This study examines the impact of safety behaviors (i.e., unnecessary protective actions) on outcomes of exposure therapy for spider phobia. Researchers will compare exposure therapy with (a) no safety behaviors, (b) safety behaviors faded toward the end of treatment, and (c) unfaded safety behaviors.

Detailed description

Some studies suggest that safety behaviors might undermine the efficacy of exposure therapy (Powers et al., 2010), whereas other studies suggest that there is no difference in exposure therapy outcomes whether or not safety behaviors are used (Deacon et al., 2010). Mixed findings could be explained by the parameters of safety behaviors use, such as whether they are used throughout the full course of therapy or faded toward the end of therapy. This will be the first study to directly compare the impact of faded and unfaded safety behaviors on exposure therapy outcomes. Specifically, researchers will randomize participants with a fear of spiders to receive exposure therapy (a) without safety behavior use, (b) with faded safety behavior use, and (c) with un-faded safety behavior use. Researchers will compare each condition's impact on fear reduction and on the tolerability/acceptability of treatment.

Conditions

• Specific Phobia
• Arachnophobia
• Spider Phobia

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Exposure with faded safety behaviors	Exposure therapy will involve three, 10-minute trials in which participants encounter a spider. Participants in this group will wear protective gear during the first two trials, and will remove the protective gear during the last trial.
BEHAVIORAL	Exposure without safety behaviors	Exposure therapy will involve three, 10-minute trials in which participants encounter a spider. Participants in this group will not wear protective gear during any of the exposure therapy trials.
BEHAVIORAL	Exposure with unfaded safety behaviors	Exposure therapy will involve three, 10-minute trials in which participants encounter a spider. Participants in this group will wear protective gear during all three exposure therapy trials.

Timeline

• Start date: 2019-02-28
• Primary completion: 2020-04-06
• Completion: 2020-04-06
• First posted: 2020-07-14
• Last updated: 2021-10-18

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States