Cognitive-behavioral and pharmacological treatment for social phobia: A meta-analysis.

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Abstract
We conducted a meta‐analysis using all available controlled treatment outcome studies of cognitive‐behavioral and pharmacological treatments for social phobia (N= 24 studies, N= 1079 subjects). The mean social anxiety effect size for cognitive‐behavioral treatments was .74 and for pharmacological treatments was .62. Both were significantly different from zero and the difference between them was not significant. Among cognitive‐behavioral treatments, exposure‐interventions yielded the largest effect size (ES) whether alone (ES = .89) or combined with cognitive restructuring (ES = .80). Selective serotonin reup‐take inhibitors (ES = 1.89) and benzodiazepines (ES = .72) yielded the largest effect sizes for pharmacotherapy. According to cost projections, group cognitive‐behavioral treatment offered the most cost‐effective intervention.