Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.
Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.
J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2023 Mar;78:101799. doi: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2022.101799. Epub 2022 Nov 23.
Loneliness is an important factor in mental and physical health. People with social anxiety disorder (SAD) often report high levels of loneliness, which may be maintained by difficulties with intimacy. Building Closer Friendships (BCF) is a technology-based intervention we developed to reduce loneliness through reducing fear of intimacy in individuals with SAD.
A sample of individuals with current SAD (N = 55), were randomized to BCF or waitlist control conditions and completed self-report assessments of loneliness, fear of intimacy, social anxiety and other outcomes throughout the study. An in vivo conversation task was also administered at post-treatment to assess distress and perceived disclosure, warmth, and friendliness of participants when interacting with a stranger.
In the intent-to-treat analyses, the BCF group reported lower fear of intimacy at post-treatment compared to the control group. Among completers, BCF led to lower fear of intimacy at post-treatment and follow-up, and lower loneliness and depression at follow-up compared to the waitlist control. No treatment effects were found in the conversation task or for other symptom outcomes, including social anxiety. Analyses of treatment components revealed that the frequency of emotional check-ins with friends was associated with reductions in loneliness and depression.
The study was limited by the sample of primarily undergraduate college students, and use of self-report measures.
This preliminary study found modest support for BCF as a computerized intervention to reduce fear of intimacy and loneliness in individuals with SAD.
孤独感是心理健康和身体健康的一个重要因素。患有社交焦虑症（SAD）的人经常报告孤独感水平较高，而这种孤独感可能是由于亲密关系困难而持续存在的。我们开发了一种基于技术的干预措施“建立更亲密的友谊（BCF）”，通过减少 SAD 个体对亲密关系的恐惧来减少孤独感。
一组患有当前 SAD 的个体（N=55）被随机分配到 BCF 或候补名单对照条件，并在整个研究过程中完成了孤独感、对亲密关系的恐惧、社交焦虑和其他结果的自我报告评估。在治疗后还进行了一项现场对话任务，以评估参与者在与陌生人互动时的痛苦程度以及感知到的披露、温暖和友好程度。
在意向治疗分析中，BCF 组在治疗后报告的对亲密关系的恐惧低于对照组。在完成治疗的参与者中，BCF 导致治疗后和随访时对亲密关系的恐惧降低，以及随访时孤独感和抑郁感降低，与候补名单对照组相比。在对话任务或其他症状结果（包括社交焦虑）中未发现治疗效果。对治疗成分的分析表明，与朋友进行情感检查的频率与孤独感和抑郁感的降低有关。
该研究受到主要由大学生组成的样本和使用自我报告措施的限制。
这项初步研究发现，BCF 作为一种计算机化干预措施，在减少 SAD 个体对亲密关系的恐惧和孤独感方面有一定的支持。
