Comparing the Effectiveness of Behavioral Activation and Stress Inoculation Training on Experiential Avoidance and Emotion Regulation in Adolescents with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD)

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is one of the major psychological challenges in adolescents' social relationships that could lead to many problems. The aim of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of behavioral activation and stress inoculation training on experiential avoidance and emotion regulation in adolescents with SAD.

The research method was semi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test-follow-up plan with a control group. The statistical population of the research included all students aged 15 to 18 with SAD in the 2nd education district of Isfahan in the academic years 2021 and 2022. For this purpose, using a multi-stage cluster random sampling method, 600 students were screened from among boys' high schools in Isfahan by implementing Paklak's social anxiety scale adolescents (2004). They were randomly assigned to two experimental groups and a control group. The people in the experimental groups participated in parallel and simultaneous treatment sessions of behavioral activation (10 sessions) and stress inoculation training (9 sessions); But for the control group, there was no intervention. The measurement tools included the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II) by Bond & et all (2011) and emotion regulation by Gross and John (2003). To analyze the data, the statistical method of analysis of variance of repeated measurements and Bonferroni's posthoc test was used in SPSS-26 software.

The results showed that behavioral activation therapy had a stronger effect on experiential avoidance than other one for 15-18-year-old with SAD, and the effects of the intervention remain stable over time (p<0.01). Also, comparing the results of the effects of two methods of behavioral activation and stress inoculation training on improving emotion regulation in adolescents, no significant difference was found (p>0.01).

The results of this study support the effect of behavioral activation therapy and stress inoculation training on experiential avoidance and emotion regulation in adolescents with SAD.