Efficacy of three treatment protocols for adolescents with social anxiety disorder: A 5-year follow-up assessment

Few studies have reported long-term follow-up data in adults and even fewer in adolescents. The purpose of this work is to report on the longest follow-up assessment in the literature on treatments for adolescents with social phobia. A 5-year follow-up assessment was conducted with subjects who originally received either Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy for Adolescents (CBGT-A), Social Effectiveness Therapy for Adolescents—Spanish version (SET-Asv), or Intervención en Adolescentes con Fobia Social—Treatment for Adolescents with Social Phobia (IAFS) in a controlled clinical trial. Twenty-three subjects completing the treatment conditions were available for the 5-year follow-up. Results demonstrate that subjects treated either with CBGT-A, SET-Asv and IAFS continued to maintain their gains after treatments were terminated. Either the CBGT-A, SET-Asv and IAFS can provide lasting effects to the majority of adolescents with social anxiety. Issues that may contribute to future research and clinical implications are discussed.