Overcoming Treatment Barriers

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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This study aims to assess whether negative or rather the lack of positive treatment expectations could be positively influenced by online short interventions and increase intention so seek treatment and actual help-seeking behavior when compared to a no-treatment control group. Further, the study investigators like to explore if specifically focusing on intensifying positive treatment expectations vs. a reduction of expectations about negative treatment effects will influence the pattern of results differently.

Detailed Description
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The investigators expect that participants receiving an intervention e.g., amplifying positive (performance) expectancies vs. reducing negative (performance) expectancies of psychotherapeutic treatment, will show an increase in intentions to seek treatment and are more likely to report actual treatment-seeking behavior after the intervention when compared with participants who will describe their treatment expectations via a writing task. Further, the investigators want to explore if the expectancy-modulating interventions will differently affect the intention to seek treatment within socially anxious individuals. If participants agree, the investigators plan to assess changes in expectations, attitudes as well as actual treatment seeking behavior at a Follow-Up assessment one week later (data from Follow-Up will be analyzed exploratively and is not part of the main hypotheses).

Official Title
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Overcoming Treatment Barriers: The Role of Expectations in the Behavioral Intention of Treatment Seeking for Social Anxiety

Conditions
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Health Care Utilization, Health Care Seeking Behavior

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: Video of a patients testimonial
* Other: Writing Task


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: at least 18 years old fluent in German (C Level) access to a computer device with internet access Exclusion Criteria: non correctable hearing or visual impairment current in psychotherapeutic treatment or on a waiting list no neurological impairment or psychotic disorders

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 75 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Reducing Negative Expectations<br>This group will watch a video of a patient-therapist interaction. The testimonial of the patient is framed to reduce negative expectations about therapeutic treatment. | Other: Video of a patients testimonial<br>* The intervention is a prerecorded video of a re-enacted patient-therapist interaction whereby the patient gives a testimonial about the treatment process while either reducing negative expectations or maximizing positive expectations about therapy, respectively.<br>* Other names: Free-Writing Task;|
| Experimental: Maximizing Positive Expectations<br>This group will watch a video of a patient-therapist interaction. The testimonial of the patient is framed to maximize positive expectations about therapeutic treatment. | Other: Video of a patients testimonial<br>* The intervention is a prerecorded video of a re-enacted patient-therapist interaction whereby the patient gives a testimonial about the treatment process while either reducing negative expectations or maximizing positive expectations about therapy, respectively.<br>* Other names: Free-Writing Task;|
| Other: Control Group<br>This group will explicate their current treatment expectations in a writing task. | Other: Writing Task<br>* Participants write freely about their current treatment expectations / apprehensions to seek treatment<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in Treatment Expectations (Treatment Expectation Questionnaire, TEX-Q) | Explicit treatment expectations measured by 15 items on a 11point Likert-scale | At baseline (pre-measurement), immediately after intervention (post-measurement, approximately 20 minutes after beginning of study procedure) and at Follow-Up investigation (one week after post measurement) | 
| Changes in intention to seek treatment | Estimated Probability to seek treatment on a self-generated rating scale from 0 (not likely at all) to 100 (very much likely) | At baseline (pre-measurement), immediately after intervention (post-measurement, approximately 20 minutes after beginning of study procedure) and at Follow-Up investigation (one week after post measurement) | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Intention to seek treatment (Behavioral Outcome 1) | Participants respond with yes or no to indicate their interest to receive more concrete information about social anxiety and its treatment possibilities. If the answer was answered with yes, participants are asked to give their e-mail address to receive information which is used to assess intention to seek treatment in form of a behavioral outcome. | After intervention (post measurement, approximately 30 minutes after beginning of study procedure) |