Social anxiety in adolescents: Testing aspects of the cognitive model and developing an Internet version of Cognitive Therapy. (360G-Wellcome-211022_Z_18_Z)

While it is common for teenagers to report feeling somewhat self-conscious and worried about what others think of them, for some adolescents social anxiety can be overwhelming and markedly interfere with their day-to-day life. Around 4% of young people experience clinical levels of social anxiety by the age of 18. Their success at school and their relationships with family and friends are all seriously affected. It is therefore essential that we have effective treatments for this disorder. Unfortunately, evidence suggests that many young people do not get better with the talking treatments that are available. In contrast we know that Cognitive Therapy (a type of talking treatment) is very effective with socially anxious adults. Cognitive Therapy was developed to target key factors that cause and maintain the illness in adults. I would therefore like to answer two questions in my research. First, are the factors that are important in maintaining social anxiety in adults also important in adolescent social anxiety? Second, can we develop an accessible and effective version of Cognitive Therapy for adolescents online? We will test if Cognitive Therapy works by comparing its effects to online stress management.