Cognitive assessment strategies and the measurement of outcome of treatment for social phobia

Abstract

With the development of cognitive-behavioral theories and treatments for the emotional disorders, there is an increased need for the development and utilization of assessment devices to quantify cognitive constructs. This is especially important in the study and treatment of social phobia, an anxiety disorder that appears to have a significant cognitive component. In this paper, I review and evaluate the use of cognitive assessment strategies in studies of the cognitive-behavioral treatment of social phobia. Although much useful data have been collected, studies that included any form of cognitive assessment relied heavily on questionnaire assessment of fear of negative evaluation or irrational beliefs, with only occasional use of other methods such as thought listing or self-statement questionnaires. In the latter part of the review, I focus on the potential utility of other measures including those derived from the growing literature on the processing of information among persons with social phobia or other anxiety disorders. Studies that have demonstrated differences between social phobics and comparison groups are reviewed, and the potential uses of these information processing techniques are examined. The cognitive assessment of social phobia and its response to cognitive-behavioral interventions remains in its childhood, although the transition to adolescence may be on the horizon.