Symposia
Transdiagnostic
Kevin Saulnier, M.S.
Ohio University
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Sierra Flynt, BA
Graduate Student
Ohio University
Athens, Ohio
Catherine Accorso, MA
Graduate Student
Ohio University
Athens, Ohio
Brandon Koscinski, MS
Graduate Student
Ohio University
Athens, Ohio
Nicholas P. Allan, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Ohio University
Athens, Ohio
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unparalleled social isolation. As social isolation is prospectively associated with increases in social anxiety, interventions are needed that reduce social anxiety and can be administered virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic. Anxiety sensitivity social concerns (ASSC), defined as the fear of observable anxiety symptoms, is a risk factor for social anxiety. Given observed increases in anxiety sensitivity during the COVID-19 pandemic, interventions designed to reduce ASSC are needed. The current study was designed to examine the efficacy of an intervention termed Social Concerns Appraisal Retraining (SCAR), a brief intervention designed to reduce ASSC, and to examine how the SCAR intervention influences COVID-19 distress and safety behaviors. Data were used from an ongoing randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT) to examine the feasibility/acceptability of SCAR. Community adult participants (N = 23, expected N = 36; M age = 25.86, SD = 9.65; 74.3% female) were randomly assigned to complete the SCAR intervention (consisting of a 1-hour session followed by a 2-week app-assisted skills practice period) or were placed on a waitlist. Active and waitlist participants completed questionnaires at baseline and after one month, and active participants completed additional questionnaires following the intervention. Participants who received the SCAR intervention experienced a reduction in ASSC from baseline to post-intervention (t[15] = -2.43, p = .03) and from baseline to the 1-month follow-up (t[9] = -3.10, p = .01). Participants who received the SCAR intervention reported similar financial worries, health worries, and catastrophizing worries due to the COVID-19 pandemic from pre- to post-intervention, but reported marginally less stockpiling behavior following the intervention (t[15] = -2.00, p = .07). Among participants who completed the 1-month follow-up, participants in the active condition reported marginally lower levels of ASSC (t[15] = -2.00, p = .07). There were no significant effects of condition on COVID-19 worries or behaviors at 1-month follow-up. Preliminary results from this ongoing RCT indicate that the SCAR intervention reduces ASSC and that those reductions are maintained after one month. Significant reductions in COVID-19 distress and behavior were not observed in participants who completed the SCAR intervention; however, recruitment is still ongoing, and some preliminary analyses may be underpowered. Clinical implications and future directions will be discussed.