The relation between mindfulness and fear of negative evaluation over the course of cognitive behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder.

OBJECTIVES

This study examined the relation between mindfulness and fear of negative evaluation over the course of nonmindfulness based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for social anxiety disorder (SAD). We expected that higher levels of mindfulness would be associated with a more positive response to treatment.

METHOD: This study is a secondary report from a randomized controlled trial in which participants (N = 65) diagnosed with SAD were randomly assigned to receive 8 weeks of 1 of 2 manualized treatments (exposure group therapy, n = 33; or virtual reality exposure therapy, n = 32) either immediately or following an 8 week waiting period.

RESULTS

Fear of negative evaluation decreased following treatment and was negatively related to mindfulness throughout treatment and follow-up. Mindfulness did not moderate treatment outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings indicate that while mindfulness is related to fear, it is not a moderator of symptom reduction in nonmindfulness-based treatment. Implications for treatment and future research are discussed.