Dysfunctional Attention Processes in Fear of Blushing: Specificity and Changeability

Overview

Blushing is associated with a heightened self-focused attention. In our study we are interested if this self-focused attention can be shown experimentally and if it can be changed by therapy and training. For the experimental part of the study, we want to compare blushing fearful individuals to social anxious participants who are not fearful of blushing and to healthy controls who report to blush either seldom or quite often. In the therapeutical part of our study, we compare an attention training to the standard cognitive behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder in an intensive group therapy approach.

Fear of blushing is a specific syndrome in social anxiety disorder. Although attentional biases for social anxiety disorders have often been reported, specific data for fear of blushing are still missing. In this study, dysfunctional attention processes are examined by the use of various questionnaire measures and attention tests (e.g. Stroop test, task switching paradigm) comparing fear of blushers, other social phobia patients, healthy volunteers who report to blush seldomly respectively often. The second goal of the study is to examine if these attention processes can be changed by training and therapy. Therefore, individuals who fulfill DSM-IV criteria for social anxiety disorder and report fear of blushing as main problem, are treated with attention training and with CBT for social anxiety disorder. Therapy will be held in the form of intensive weekend group therapy. Differences in outcomes for both therapy types and in changeability of attention processes on objective test data are examined. Stability of results are tested up to 6-month and 12-month after post-assessment.