Sosyal Anksiyete Bozukluğu Belirti Düzeyi Yüksek ve Düşük Olan Bireylerin Çeşitli Psikolojik Değişkenler ve Bilişsel Yanlılıklar Açısından Karşılaştırılması: Bir Bilgece Farkındalık Temelli Psikoeğitim Programı Önerisi

Abstract

In the current study, people who experience different degree of social anxiety disorder symptoms were examined in terms of psychological symptoms, emotion regulation difficulties, level of mindfulness, and biases in working memory and attention process. Moreover, a psychoeducation program based on mindfulness which is known as a concept related to cognitive functioning and flexibility, was prepared and its effectiveness on SAD symptoms and attention bias was investigated in a pilot study.

The present study was composed of three different phases. In the first phase, SAD symptom level of 941 university students were examined and low and high level groups were formed. Then, these groups were compared in terms of other psychological symptoms. In the second phase of the study, high and low groups were compared in terms of their emotion regulation difficulties, level of mindfulness and biases in working memory and attention processes. In the last phase of the study, Mindfulness Based Psychoeducation Program (MBPP), which was prepared in the current study, was administered to 7 participants with high level of SAD symptoms and the effectiveness of the psychoeducation program on the symptoms and attention bias were examined.

According to the result of the study, firstly high level of SAD symptoms group had higher levels of somatization, depression, obsession-compulsion, interpersonal sensitivity, hostility, paranoia, psychotism and emotion regulation difficulties but lower levels of mindfulness as compared with low level of SAD symptoms group. Secondly, reaction time of all participants is higher for neutral, aggressive, sad, fearful faces than surprised faces. Furthermore, women with high level of SAD symptoms had higher reaction time for neutral faces and all types of words than women with low level of SAD symptoms. Lastly, according to result of the pilot study, MBPP was effective in the reduction of SAD symptoms. However, the program’s effectiveness for reducing attention bias was only marginally significant.

The result of the study and their contribution to the theory and practice of clinical psychology is discussed in light of the current literature.