Acceptance-based Self-help for Individuals With Visible Difference and Social Anxiety

University of Sheffield

Status: Completed

Conditions: Hair Condition; Visible Difference; Skin Condition; ACT; Burns; Craniofacial; Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Treatments: Behavioral: Acceptance-based self-help intervention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03205839

151066

Details and patient eligibility

About

The acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) model theoretically fits with treating appearance-related anxiety in individuals with a visible difference. This study examines the effectiveness of an acceptance-based self-help manual for this population.

Full description

Individuals with visible difference commonly experience social anxiety due to appearance-related concerns. There are limited resources to help people with appearance-related distress, so internet-provided self-help interventions may be beneficial. A pilot randomised controlled trial will compare the effectiveness of an acceptance-based self-help intervention to a waitlist control group.

We hypothesise (1) the acceptance-based self-help intervention will significantly increase participants' "psychological flexibility", (2) significantly decrease fear of negative evaluation from others and (3) significantly increase their quality of life, compared to the waitlist control group. Data will be collected at two time points only.

General distress (CORE-10) will be collected pre-intervention only to ensure randomisation has been successful. Should the two groups significantly differ in distress, this will be accounted for in subsequent analyses.

Enrollment: 284 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Individuals who self-identify as having a visible difference to their appearance (such as, but not restricted to: hair and skin conditions, burns, craniofacial conditions, birthmarks, surgical scarring)
• Must self-define as experiencing concerns about social interaction or a loss of social confidence in relation to their visible difference.
• Must be aged 18 years or over
• Must be fluent in English language
• Must have access to a computer and the internet

Exclusion criteria

• Currently receiving any form of psychotherapy

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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284 participants in 2 patient groups

Acceptance-based self-help

Experimental group

Description:

Participants in this group will receive the self-help booklet. Surviving to Thriving: ACT self-help for living well with a visible difference in appearance

Treatment:

Behavioral: Acceptance-based self-help intervention

Waitlist control group

No Intervention group

Description:

Participants in this group will be placed onto a waitlist for the four-week intervention period.