| Objective:In the public performance occasions or social occasions, social anxiety individuals always worry about being gazed. They often become unnatural once people pay attention to them. They are afraid to have poor performance in front of others, fear of others’ negative evaluation, and their self-assessment are negative, often accompanied by avoidance behavior. Relevant studies have shown that social anxiety has become one of the major psychological issues in college students. As we known, medical profession needs good psychological quality and social communication skills.The intervention study of social anxiety was relatively less in domestic, and yet there isn’t an effective psychological intervention method. This reseach is the first use of Naikan cognitive therapy on social anxiety of medical students, and the effect of the therapy was evaluated and its mechanism was explored.Methods:In March and May of2011, part of the Undergraduate students in Tianjin Medical University were surveyed using social avoidance and distress scale (SAD)(total score higher than13points or anxiety subscale higher than7points or avoidanc subscale higher than12points),68medical students met the criteria and voluntarily participated in this study. Then they were randomly assigned to two groups according to the random number table,34subjects in control group and34subjects in the Naikan Cognitive Therapy group. The latter group received7days of the Naikan Cognitive Therapy (NCT), while the control group participated in daily mental health education. They were both assessed before and after treatment, the evaluation tools include Social Avoidance and Distress Scale (SAD), Irrational Belief Scale (IBS), Fear of Negative Evaluation scale (FNE), Texas Social Behavior Inventory(TSBI), Focus of the Attention Questionnaire (FAQ), Self-monitoring scale (SMS), Self-esteem scale (SES)Results:Before the intervention, there were no significant differences between the two groups in general as well as the evaluation index.①A significant decrease occurred in SAD total score and factor scores in NCT group; After intervention, SAD total score and factor scores were significantly lower in NCT group than that in control group.②FNE score after intervention decreased significantly compared with that of pre-intervention; Furthermore, FNE score was significantly lower than that of the control group.③A significant increase occurred in TSBI score in control group; After intervention, TSBI score was significantly higher in NCT group than that of pre-intervention. There is no significant difference on the TSBI score between the NCT group and control group after the intervention.④A significant decrease occurred in self-focus attention factor scorein NCT group; After intervention, there was significant difference in self-focus attention factor score between two groups.⑤A significant decrease occurred in SES total score in NCT group; After intervention, there was significant difference in SES total score between two groups.⑥There were significant differences in IBS total score and all factor scores in NCT group; After intervention, there were significant difference in IBS total score and all factor scores between two groups.Conclusion:①NCT can significantly decrease the level of social anxiety status in medical students;②NCT can significantly improve their fear of deny evaluation or negative evaluation from others;③NCT can improve the self-esteem levels of medical students with social anxiety;④NCT can reduce the degree of self-focus attention in medical students with social anxiety;⑤NCT can significantly correct the irrational beliefs of medical students with social anxiety and make them more reasonable;⑥The influence factors of NCT on social anxiety:the improvement of social anxiety are closely related to the improvement of negative evaluation fear, self-esteem, self-focusing attention and the irrational beliefs;⑦As a short and easy manipulating method, NCT has a broad applicable prospect to social phobia disorder. |
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