RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF RATIONAL RESTRUCTURING AND SELF-CONTROL DESENSITIZATION IN THE REDUCTION OF INTERPERSONAL ANXIETY

Cognitively oriented treatment was compared to a desensitization intervention employing the use of relaxation as a coping skill for socially anxious community residents. Pretreatment anxiety level was also varied (high vs moderate scores on the Social Avoidance and Distress scale) and crossed with treatment procedure (systematic rational restructuring, self-control desensitization, rational restructuring plus self-control desensitization, and waiting-list control). Dependent measures consisted of self-report indexes of interpersonal, nonsocial, and general anxiety, as well as behavioral observations and pulse-rate measures for an in vivo social interaction. The clearest findings emerged only on the self-report measures, which reflected the relative effectiveness of rational restructuring. There was also a greater tendency for the cognitively oriented treatments to result in generalization of anxiety reduction to nonsocial situations. No interaction was found between effectiveness of treatment procedure and initial level of anxiety. © 1979 Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy.