Comparison of the Effectiveness of Psychodrama and Group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Fear of Negative Evaluation, Focused Attention and Self-Criticism in Students with Social Anxiety

Fear of negative evaluation, focused attention and self-criticism are important cognitive factors in social anxiety disorder. So far, many therapeutic interventions have been introduced to improve them. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy and psychodrama on reducing this symptoms.

This research is a quasi-experimental study with two experimental groups and a control group. In this study, 36 students of Neyshabour University of Medical Sciences who met the criteria of social anxiety were randomly divided into three groups of 12 including two experimental groups and a control group. All three groups were evaluated with the short form of Fear of Negative Evaluation Questionnaire, Focus Questionnaire and Self-Criticism Questionnaire. The above cognitions were assessed.

Findings showed that cognitive-behavioral intervention and psycho-display both significantly reduced the negative evaluation (F = 11.559 and p = 0.001) of self-focused attention (F = 5.343 and p = 0.011). And critical self (F = 17.217 and p = 0.001) in the experimental groups compared to the control group. This difference was not significant between the test groups (p> 0.05).

Both cognitive-behavioral and psycho-dramatic interventions are effective on fear of negative evaluation, self-focused attention and self-criticism and can be used alternatively and depending on the situation in different groups, including students.