TY - JOUR
T1 - Reducing social anxiety in adolescents distressed by a visible difference
T2 - Results from a randomised control trial of a web-based intervention
AU - Zelihić, Deniz
AU - van Dalen, Marije
AU - Kling, Johanna
AU - Pripp, Are Hugo
AU - Nordgreen, Tine
AU - Kvalem, Ingela L.
AU - Pasmans, Suzanne G. M. A.
AU - Mathijssen, Irene M. J.
AU - Koudstaal, Maarten J.
AU - Hillegers, Manon H. J.
AU - Williamson, Heidi
AU - Utens, Elisabeth M. W. J.
AU - Feragen, Kristin B.
AU - Okkerse, Jolanda M. E.
N1 - Funding Information: This study was funded by the Research Council of Norway (Grant no.: 287243 ) and the Innovatiefonds Zorgverzekeraars (Grant no.: B 17-133 ). Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors
PY - 2022/3/1
Y1 - 2022/3/1
N2 - A visible difference to the face or body may challenge adolescents’ adjustment and engagement in life activities, where some require psychosocial support. However, evidence is limited for whether existing interventions for this adolescent group reduce social or appearance-related distress. We therefore conducted a parallel-group, randomised control trial to evaluate the effectiveness of Young Person's Face IT, a self-guided web-based psychosocial intervention developed for adolescents with a visible difference who experience distress. Adolescents (N = 189, aged 11–18) from two countries (Norway and the Netherlands), were randomly allocated to an intervention group or care as usual (CAU). Outcomes were body esteem, social anxiety, perceived stigmatisation, and life disengagement. Compared with CAU, participants who completed Young Person's Face IT showed reductions in social anxiety symptoms (ηp2 = 0.06). No significant improvements were found for the other outcomes. This study endorses web-based psychosocial support in reducing social anxiety in adolescents distressed by a visible difference. Future studies are needed to confirm the effectiveness of Young Person's Face IT and to explore potential long-term effects.
AB - A visible difference to the face or body may challenge adolescents’ adjustment and engagement in life activities, where some require psychosocial support. However, evidence is limited for whether existing interventions for this adolescent group reduce social or appearance-related distress. We therefore conducted a parallel-group, randomised control trial to evaluate the effectiveness of Young Person's Face IT, a self-guided web-based psychosocial intervention developed for adolescents with a visible difference who experience distress. Adolescents (N = 189, aged 11–18) from two countries (Norway and the Netherlands), were randomly allocated to an intervention group or care as usual (CAU). Outcomes were body esteem, social anxiety, perceived stigmatisation, and life disengagement. Compared with CAU, participants who completed Young Person's Face IT showed reductions in social anxiety symptoms (ηp2 = 0.06). No significant improvements were found for the other outcomes. This study endorses web-based psychosocial support in reducing social anxiety in adolescents distressed by a visible difference. Future studies are needed to confirm the effectiveness of Young Person's Face IT and to explore potential long-term effects.
KW - Adolescent
KW - Body esteem
KW - Intervention
KW - Randomised control trial
KW - Social anxiety
KW - Visible difference
KW - eHealth
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85123855884&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2022.01.008
DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2022.01.008
M3 - Article
C2 - 35121566
SN - 1740-1445
VL - 40
SP - 295
EP - 309
JO - BODY IMAGE
JF - BODY IMAGE
ER -