The Effects of Repeated Attachment Security Priming on Social Anxiety and Attention Bias: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background: Although the clinical utility of attachment security priming has been suggested in recent years, the effect of attachment security priming on social anxiety and its core symptoms (i.e., attention bias) remains unspecified. Therefore, the present study explored the potential effectiveness of repeated attachment security priming in alleviating social anxiety and attention bias among Chinese college students. Methods: Fifty-six college students with high social anxiety were randomly assigned to the attachment security priming group (n = 30) or control group (n = 26). The priming group completed seven attachment security priming sessions over 2 weeks (every 2 days), and the control group was assigned to a waitlist for 2 weeks. Results: The results revealed that individuals in the priming group reported less social anxiety after 2 weeks of security attachment priming, and those in the control group did not change significantly. The results also showed that there was no significant change in the attention bias of individuals with social anxiety before and after the intervention. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that attachment security priming is a promising alternative intervention option for social anxiety. The potential clinical implications of security attachment priming are discussed.