Universal-Based Prevention of Syndromal and Subsyndromal SocialAnxiety: A Randomized Controlled Study

摘要

This article reports results from a universal preventive program aimed at (a) reducing social anxiety and(b) preventing the development of syndromal social anxiety among a population-based sample of olderchildren and young adolescents during a 1-year period. Pupils (N = 1,748) from 2 counties were clusterrandomized to either an intervention or a control condition. In the intervention condition, the NorwegianUniversal Preventive Program for Social Anxiety (NUPP-SA)—which educates pupils, parents/guardians, teachers/school staff, and county health workers—was administered. The results indicate thatNUPP-SA had a significant specific intervention effect for reducing social anxiety in the total sample aswell as among the syndromal subjects. Further, significantly fewer subjects from the intervention countydeveloped syndromal social anxiety during the I-year period, thus showing a prevention effect. Theresults demonstrate the value of an intervention specifically aimed at reducing social anxiety andpreventing the development of syndromal social anxiety among young people.