Effect Of Online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Based On Fear Of Evaluation On Online Social Anxiety In College Students

Online social anxiety is the extension and development of offline social anxiety,It has become an essential means of communication for college students.Social anxiety can be triggered by socializing online,such as offline social.On the other hand,negative factors such as privacy leaks and internet violence in the online social scene have also emerged as a new source of stress for college students.Thus,revealing the pathogenesis of online social anxiety and exploring effective intervention strategies is an essential topic in college student mental health education.In many social anxiety research studies,fear of negative evaluation and fear of positive evaluation are considered critical cognitive characteristics of social anxiety.Social anxiety interventions have used Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) extensively.In recent years,the effects of online cognitive behavioral therapy on social anxiety have been demonstrated.This work suggests that correcting fear of negative evaluation and fear of positive evaluation may be essential in treating online social anxiety.On this basis,the present study aims to explore the relationship between fear of evaluation and online social anxiety and the impact of fear-focused online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) on university students’ online social anxiety.The first study was conducted with 518 college students randomly assigned to quickly test the association of the fear of negative evaluation and fear of positive evaluation and online social anxiety.Results showed that fear of negative evaluation was significantly positively correlated with online social anxiety,fear of positive evaluation was significantly positively correlated.Fear of negative evaluation and fear of positive evaluation are significant predictors of online social anxiety.Which together predict 41.9% of the variation in online social anxiety.In the second analysis,the experimental and control groups tested the impact of online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy based on fear of evaluation on online social anxiety among college students.A total of 84 college students with online social anxiety were recruited through the Screening of study 1(online social anxiety scale score greater than M+1SD),randomized into an experimental group(42)and control group(42).Based on referral to the social anxiety cognitive behavioral intervention paradigm,the intervention design for this study added the assessment of psychoeducational materials and behavioral therapy,including eight times of online cognitive behavioral interventions.It evaluated the levels fear of evaluation and online social anxiety of the two groups of subjects before and after the intervention four times,eight times and two months after.Fear assessment-based online cognitive behavioral therapy significantly reduced fear of negative evaluation,fear of positive evaluation appraisals and online social anxiety in college students in the experimental group.The intervention effect persisted for two months.This study aims to explore the relationship between fear of evaluation and online social anxiety,provide empirical evidence to investigate the mechanisms of online social anxiety.The intervention effect of online cognitive behavior therapy based on fear of evaluation assessment is tested,providing a novel intervention for social anxiety intervention paradigm in college students’ online social anxiety.