Study Status
Ongoing
Project Team
Principal Investigator(s): Joanna Arch, PhD
Research Team Members: Alane Burger, PhD; Mateo Chavez
Community Partners: Peer co-facilitators and participating CU Boulder undergraduate students
Alignment with Crown Institute Vision
While focused on young adults, the OASIS Study contributes to a broader understanding of how social connection, peer support, and exposure-based interventions can reduce social anxiety. Findings may ultimately inform the design of group-based mental health programs that can be adapted for adolescents, families, and school-based settings, enhancing access to evidence-based tools for social anxiety management.
Background & Context
Social anxiety affects a significant portion of young adults, with prevalence rates estimated between 14% (Szuhany & Simon, 2022) and 1 in 3 (Jeffries & Ungar, 2020). Symptoms often emerge during adolescence and early adulthood (Kessler et al., 2005), making college students a critical population for early intervention. Barriers such as fear of judgment and financial inaccessibility (Olfson et al., 2000) limit many students from seeking treatment. This study aims to fill a key gap by developing a low-cost, peer-supported, group-based approach to social anxiety treatment, especially relevant in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic’s lingering social effects (Hawes et al., 2023) and problematic social media use (O’Day & Heimberg, 2021).
Primary Aims
This study uses a Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST) framework to systematically identify the most impactful elements of the intervention.
Primary Aim: Examine which components of a group-based exposure intervention—Peer Status and Common Humanity—are most effective in reducing social anxiety symptoms.
Secondary Aims: Compare exposure, common humanity, and peer workshop groups on psychosocial outcomes. Gather post-intervention feedback to improve workshop design, delivery, and participant experience.
Research Methods
Participants: Undergraduate students at CU Boulder reporting elevated social anxiety or public speaking fears.
Design Features:
- Initial screening via online survey and phone interview.
- Randomized assignment to one of four intervention conditions.
- Group-based exposure workshops.
- Baseline, follow-up, and post-intervention measures, with exit interviews.
Key Findings & Publications /
Presentations
Data collection in progress; analysis forthcoming. Expected contributions include identifying mechanisms of change in group-based exposure therapy and clarifying the role of Common Humanity and peer dynamics in treatment efficacy. Preliminary qualitative feedback indicates strong participant engagement and perceived relevance of peer-facilitated formats.
Arch, J. J. & Burger, A. S. Recognizing Social Anxiety in Undergraduate Students. Oral presentation at Counseling and Psychiatric Services, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, January 2025.
Arch, J. J., Burger, A., Slivjak, E., Finkelstein, L. & Chavez, M. (2025, July). Participatory Co-Design of Contextually Sensitive Exposure for Socially Anxious Undergraduates. Symposium paper presented at the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science World Conference 2025, New Orleans, LA.
Contact to Learn More
References
Hawes, M. T., Szenczy, A. K., Klein, D. N., Hajcak, G., & Nelson, B. D. (2022). Increases in depression and anxiety symptoms in adolescents and young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychological Medicine, 52(14), 3222–3230. doi:10.1017/S0033291720005358
Heimberg, R. G., & Becker, R. E. (2002). Cognitive-behavioral group therapy for social phobia: Basic mechanisms and clinical strategies. Guilford Press
Jefferies, P., & Ungar, M. (2020). Social anxiety in young people: A prevalence study in seven countries. PloS one, 15(9), https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239133
Kessler, R. C., Berglund, P., Demler, O., Jin, R., Merikangas, K. R., & Walters, E. E. (2005). Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62(6), 593–602. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.62.6.593
Masia-Warner, C., Klein, R. G., Dent, H. C., Fisher, P. H., Alvir, J., Albano, A. M., & Guardino, M. (2005). School-based intervention for adolescents with social anxiety disorder: results of a controlled study. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 33(6), 707–722. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-005-7649-z
O’Day, E. B., & Heimberg, R. G. (2021). Social media use, social anxiety, and loneliness: A systematic review. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 3, Article 100070. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2021.100070
Olfson, M., Guardino, M., Struening, E., Schneier, F. R., Hellman, F., & Klein, D. F. (2000). Barriers to the treatment of social anxiety. The American journal of psychiatry, 157(4), 521–527. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.157.4.521
Szuhany, K. L. & Simon, N. M. (2022). Anxiety disorders: A Review. JAMA, 328(24), 2431- 2445. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2022.22744
Xiao, Z., & Huang, J. (2022). The relation between college students’ social anxiety and mobile phone addiction: the mediating role of regulatory emotional self-efficacy and subjective well-being. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.861527