Social Support and Reduced Fear Acquisition
University of California, Los Angeles researchers will recruit healthy participants and anxious participants (those diagnosed with social anxiety disorder) age 18-55 years old to participate in a study examining whether the ability of social support figure reminders to prevent the acquisition of fear in healthy participants extends to those with anxiety disorders. After being recruited from the UCLA community (healthy participants, n = 50) or referred by treatment providers at the Anxiety and Depression Research Center at UCLA (anxious participants, n =50) and undergoing a telephone screening and in-person screening, 100 participants will be enrolled in the study. During the experiment, all participants will undergo the same procedures: undergoing fear acquisition procedures--the repeated pairing of a neutral image with a mild electric shock that ultimately leads to the association of threat of shock with the image--in the presence of an image of a social support figure (provided by participants) and an image of a smiling stranger.
Conditions:
🦠 Fear 🦠 Anxiety
🗓️ Study Start (Actual) 9 February 2022
🗓️ Primary Completion (Estimated) December 2024
✅ Study Completion (Estimated) December 2024
👥 Enrollment (Estimated) 100
🔬 Study Type INTERVENTIONAL
📊 Phase NA
Locations:
📍 Los Angeles, California, United States

📋 Eligibility Criteria

Description

    Inclusion Criteria:

    • * healthy adults 18 and 35
    • * fluent in English
    • * no history of mental illness (healthy participants: including anxiety, depression, phobia, or any other mental health related disorder diagnosed by a mental health professional)
    • * diagnosis of social anxiety disorder (anxious participants: allowed co-morbid disorders include depression, other anxiety disorders, and PTSD)

    Exclusion Criteria:

    • * pregnant or planning to become pregnant during the experiment period
    • * presence of chronic mental illness (healthy participants: as determined by the report of a past diagnosis of mental illness by a physician or psychologist and/or the prescription of medication related to mental health disorder; including anxiety, depression, phobia, or any other diagnosed psychological disorder)
    • * presence of non-allowed co-morbid disorders (anxious participants: including, bipolar disorder, psychosis, substance use disorder, neurological disorder, and/or obsessive-compulsive disorder)
    • * current and regular use of prescription medications related to mental health disorders
Ages Eligible for Study: 18 Years to 55 Years (ADULT)
Sexes Eligible for Study: ALL
Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

🗓️ Study Record Dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Registration Dates

  • First Submitted 10 September 2020
  • First Submitted that Met QC Criteria 21 September 2020
  • First Posted 25 September 2020

Study Record Updates

  • Last Update Submitted that Met QC Criteria 20 September 2023
  • Last Update Posted 22 September 2023
  • Last Verified September 2023