Mindfulness-based interventions for social anxiety disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Xiaoyu Liu, Peng Yi, Lijun Ma, Wen Liu, Wenrui Deng, Xinxin Yang, Meng Liang, Jingyi Luo, Ni Li, Xiaoming Li
Psychiatry Research April 20, 2021 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2021.113935 (opens in new tab) via Semantic Scholar
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractMindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) show no overall advantage over control conditions for social anxiety disorder (SAD) symptoms in randomized controlled trials, with a between-group effect size of zero. However, within groups, there is a large pre-post improvement. MBIs outperform no treatment, are comparable to other active treatments, but are less effective than evidence-based treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy. MBIs also reduce depressive symptoms and improve mindfulness, quality of life, and self-compassion. Longer MBI duration is associated with greater symptom relief, and benefits persist for up to 12 months. Single-arm trials show a medium effect. Larger randomized trials are needed.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Systematic review and meta-analysis Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD) |
| Intervention | Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) |
| Keywords | Medicine Psychology |
| Key finding | Mindfulness-based interventions show no overall between-group benefit over control conditions for social anxiety disorder symptoms, with a Hedges' g of 0.00, but do show large pre-post improvements and are superior to no treatment. |
Abstract
Various psychiatric disorders are treated with mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), although the efficacy of MBIs in patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD) is unclear. In this meta-analysis, we investigated the efficacy of MBIs on SAD symptoms. Systematic searches were performed in various databases, and 11 eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 5 single-arm trials were identified. The between-groups analysis of the 11 RCTs showed that Hedges' g = 0.00, while the within-group analysis showed a large pre-post effect size (g = 1.20).MBIs were superior to the no-treatment comparator (g = 0.89), equivalent to specific active treatment (g = -0.19), and less effective than evidence-based treatment (i.e., cognitive behavioral therapies) (g = -0.29).MBIs significantly alleviated depressive symptoms and improved mindfulness, quality of life, and self-compassion. Meta-regression analysis showed a dose-response relationship between the alleviation of SAD symptoms and the duration of the MBIs (β = 0.659). Follow-up analysis showed that the effects of MBIs on SAD persisted for 12 months (g = 0.231). An analysis of the 5 single-arm trials found that MBIs had a medium effect in alleviating SAD symptoms (g = 0.48). Future research is needed regarding the design of large RCTs of MBIs on SAD patients.