The effectiveness of the narrative therapy on the fear of negative/positive evaluation and social phobia symptoms in socially anxious female students

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the narrative therapy on the fear of negative/ positive evaluation, and social phobia symptoms among the female students in Shiraz, Iran. Material and methods: Research method was quasi-experimental with pre-test and post-test with experimental and control groups. The sample included 26 subjects, who were referred to psychological centers and were selected by purposive sampling method. The research tools included fear of negative evaluation scale (FNE), fear of positive evaluation scale (FPE), and social phobia symptoms questionnaire. The narration therapy program was performed for the experimental group in eight sessions. In order to analyze data, the covariance analysis was performed using SPSS-22 software. Findings of the study showed a significant difference between the treated and untreated groups for the variables of fear, avoidance, and physiological distress. Results: The results of univariate analysis for the fear of positive evaluation variable showed a significant difference between treated and untreated groups (F = 7.1, df = 1, P = 0.015). However, for the fear of negative evaluation variable, the difference was not significant (F = 0.58, df = 1, P = 0.45). Conclusions: According to these findings, we conclude that narrative therapy is a suitable method in reducing fear of positive evaluation and the treatment of social anxiety.