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The effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for social anxiety symptoms in people living with alopecia areata: a single-group case-series design.

Behavioural and cognitive psychotherapy
September 1, 2023
Connor Heapy et al. (4 authors)
Journal ArticleHuman Study
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to investigate whether MBCT reduces social anxiety in individuals with alopecia areata (AA) and whether it also improves depression, general anxiety, quality of life, and trait mindfulness.

Results Summary

Four participants showed reductions in social anxiety from baseline to follow-up, with greater effects observed at follow-up than post-intervention. Two participants demonstrated significant improvement in standardized wellbeing measures, correlating with regular mindfulness practice between sessions.

Population

Individuals with alopecia areata (AA) experiencing social anxiety.

Effective Dosage

8-session in-person MBCT intervention (frequency not specified).

Duration

8 sessions, with a 4-week follow-up.

Interactions

None mentioned

Extracted Claims (7)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)
decrease
social anxiety
individuals with AA
-
reduces
#1
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)
decrease
depression
individuals with AA
-
reduces
#2
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)
decrease
general anxiety
individuals with AA
-
reduces
#3
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)
increase
quality of life
individuals with AA
-
increases
#4
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)
increase
trait mindfulness
individuals with AA
-
increases
#5
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)
decrease
idiographic measures of social anxiety
four participants with AA
-
demonstrated reductions in
#6
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)
increase
standardised measures of wellbeing
two participants with AA
-
demonstrated significant improvement in
#7
Abstract

BACKGROUND: Alopecia areata (AA) is an immunological disorder characterised by hair loss. Individuals with AA report high levels of social anxiety. One intervention that holds potential for reducing social anxiety in individuals with AA is mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). AIMS: Our key aim was to investigate whether MBCT reduces social anxiety in individuals with AA. The study also investigated whether MBCT reduces depression, general anxiety, and increases quality of life and increases trait mindfulness in individuals with AA. METHOD: Five participants with AA took part in an 8-session in-person MBCT intervention. A multiple-baseline single-group case series design was adopted. Idiographic measures of social anxiety were measured each day from baseline, through intervention, to follow-up. Standardised questionnaires of trait mindfulness, social anxiety, depression, anxiety, and quality of life were completed at baseline, post-intervention, and at 4-week follow-up. RESULTS: All participants completed the MBCT course, but one participant was excluded from the idiographic analysis due to a high amount of missing data. The remaining four participants demonstrated reductions in idiographic measures of social anxiety from baseline to follow-up. These effects were larger between baseline and follow-up, than between baseline and post-intervention. Two participants demonstrated significant improvement in standardised measures of wellbeing from baseline to follow-up - they also practised mindfulness most regularly at home between sessions. CONCLUSION: MBCT may be effective in reducing social anxiety and improving wellbeing in individuals with AA, although this might be dependent on the extent to which participants regularly practise mindfulness exercises.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
HumansMindfulnessAlopecia AreataQuality of LifeDepressionTreatment OutcomeCognitive Behavioral TherapyAnxiety
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy65/10
Quality50/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations5
Citations/Year2.5
Relative Citation Ratio2.44
NIH Percentile80.1%
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.50
Weight Score2.06
Normalized Score0.56
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