A Study To Evaluate The Effect Of A Group Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention Integrating Compassion Mind Training On Social Anxiety In College Students

Psychologist Adler once said,"All human psychological problems are essentially interpersonal problems." The college stage is the first time most people face more complex interpersonal relationships,which include teacher-student relationships,roommate relationships,and romantic relationships,which can lead to social anxiety and more serious psychological problems if not handled properly.In recent years,numerous studies have shown that social anxiety has been a major problem affecting college students’ mental health,however,group cognitive-behavioral intervention as the main intervention program has its shortcomings in facing socially anxious people and still needs further improvement.Objective: This study investigated the effectiveness of a group cognitive-behavioral counseling program integrating compassion training in improving social anxiety and related mental health indicators in college students through a randomized controlled trial.Methods: The study was conducted with all college students in Fujian Normal University,and 64 subjects were screened to participate in the study and randomly assigned to the experimental and intervention groups.Thirty-two subjects in the intervention group and 32 subjects in the control group underwent an 8-week group cognitive-behavioral intervention integrating compassion training.The Interaction Anxiety Scale,Self-Criticism/Aggression and Self-Compassion Scale,Self-Compassion Scale,Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale,Shame Scale,and Subjective Well-Being Scale were administered to the group before and after the intervention.The data obtained were subjected to chi-square test,independent samples t-test and repeated measures ANOVA by SPSS 22.0 and the results of the study were as follows.(1)before the intervention,there were no significant differences between the experimental and control groups in the scores on the dimensions of social anxiety,self-criticism/aggression and self-compassion scales,self-compassion scale,depression-anxiety-stress scale,episodic shame scale and subjective well-being scale.(2)Repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant time × group interactions in the experimental and control groups of the group cognitive-behavioral intervention integrating compassion training for the social anxiety,self-criticism scales of aversive self,internal shame,external shame,depression,anxiety,stress,self-compassion,and subjective well-being;for compassionate self,the time × group interaction was not significant.Intervention results suggest that a group cognitive-behavioral intervention integrating compassion training not only has the ability to significantly improve social anxiety that traditional group cognitive-behavioral interventions have,but also significantly reduces some indicators that traditional group cognitive-behavioral interventions struggle to improve,including shame and aversion to self,as well as the ability to generate self-soothing.It also significantly improves people’s psychological well-being,such as depression,anxiety,stress,and subjective well-being.Overall,the program is practical and feasible in alleviating social anxiety in college students.