Social anxiety in adolescents: the effect of video feedback on anxiety and the self-evaluation of performance.

BACKGROUND

A negative self-generated image is thought to play a role in the development and maintenance of social anxiety. Video feedback (VF) is an effective therapeutic technique for correcting this distorted image with adults during stressful social tasks. This study investigated the effectiveness of VF with adolescents.

METHOD: Thirty-six highly socially anxious adolescents (13 to 17-year-olds) were randomly assigned to one of two groups: VF or no VF. Both groups gave two brief speeches to a video camera. Self-rated measures of anticipatory anxiety, predicted performance and actual performance during the speeches were completed at several time points. The speeches were also rated by two independent observers.

RESULTS

Adolescents who received VF, in comparison with control participants, developed more positive appraisals of their performance during the first speech. Predictions of their performance on the second speech also improved, and a reduction in state anxiety was observed. Furthermore, a more positive appraisal of performance was generalized to the second speech. The independent observers could not distinguish between the participants who received VF and those who did not.

CONCLUSIONS

When used with socially anxious adolescents, VF may be a beneficial therapeutic technique in correcting a distorted self-perception of performance, reducing anxiety prior to entering a stressful social task and enhancing predictions of performance for future tasks.