0000000000053837

AUTHOR

Ulrike Willutzki

Reliability, validity and responsiveness of the EQ-5D in assessing and valuing health status in patients with social phobia

Abstract Objective The aim of the study was to analyse the psychometric properties of the EQ-5D in patients with social phobia. Methods We used a sample of 445 patients with social phobia with five measurement points over a 30 month period. The discriminative ability of the EQ-5D was analysed by comparing the patients’ responses with the general population and between different disease severity levels. For test-retest reliability we assessed the level of agreement in patients’ responses over time, when there was no change in the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS). Construct validity was analysed by identifying correlations of the EQ-5D with more specific instruments. For responsiveness w…

research product

Short-term cost-effectiveness of psychodynamic therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy in social anxiety disorder: Results from the SOPHO-NET trial

Abstract Background To investigate the short-term cost-effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and psychodynamic therapy (PDT) compared to waiting list (WL). Methods The analysis was conducted alongside the SOPHO-NET multi-center efficacy trial. Patients were randomly assigned to CBT ( n =209), PDT ( n =207), or WL ( n =79). Resource use was assessed prior and during treatment to determine direct and absenteeism costs. Unadjusted incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were calculated based on remission and response rates. To visualize statistical uncertainty, cost-effectiveness acceptability curves (CEACs) were constructed based on adjusted net-benefit regression. Differe…

research product

Typical symptom change patterns and their predictors in patients with social anxiety disorder: A latent class analysis

Abstract Objectives The use of trajectories and analysis of change patterns is a promising way toward better differentiation of subgroups in psychotherapy studies. Research on change patterns in social anxiety disorder (SAD) are still rare, although SAD is one of the most common mental disorders. In a secondary analysis of data from the SOPHO-NET-trial (ISRCTN53517394) this study aimed to investigate change patterns and their predictors in a sample of SAD patients. Methods Patients with SAD (N = 357) were randomly assigned to cognitive-behavioral or psychodynamic therapy. The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) was assessed at 1st session (pre), 8th session, 15th session and at the end of…

research product

The Social Phobia Psychotherapy Research Network

This paper presents the Social Phobia Psychotherapy Research Network. The research program encompasses a coordinated group of studies adopting a standard protocol and an agreed-on set of standardized measures for the assessment and treatment of social phobia (SP). In the central project (study A), a multicenter randomized controlled trial, refined models of manualized cognitive-behavioral therapy and manualized short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy are compared in the treatment of SP. A sample of 512 outpatients will be randomized to either cognitive-behavioral therapy, short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy or waiting list. Assessments will be made at baseline, at the end of treatment and…

research product

Baseline Patient Characteristics Predicting Outcome and Attrition in Cognitive Therapy for Social Phobia: Results from a Large Multicentre Trial

We examined the role of baseline patient characteristics as predictors of outcome (end-state functioning, response and remission) and attrition for cognitive therapy (CT) in social anxiety disorder (SAD). Beyond socio-demographic and clinical variables such as symptom severity and comorbidity status, previously neglected patient characteristics (e.g., personality, self-esteem, shame, interpersonal problems and attachment style) were analysed. Method Data came from the CT arm of a multicentre RCT with n = 244 patients having DSM-IV SAD. CT was conducted according to the manual by Clark and Wells. Severity of SAD was assessed at baseline and end of treatment with the Liebowitz Social Anxiety …

research product

Optimal Cut Points for Remission and Response for the German Version of the Social Phobia Anxiety Inventory (SPAI).

The German version of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI-G) is a validated measure for the detection of social anxiety disorder (SAD). The aim of the present study was to develop optimal cut points (OC) for remission and response to treatment for the SPAI-G.We used Receiver Operating Characteristic methods and bootstrapping to analyse the data of 359 patients after psychotherapeutic treatment. OCs where defined as the cut points with the highest sensitivity and specificity after bootstrapping.For remission, an OC of 2.79 was found, and for response, a change in score from pre- to posttreatment by 11% yielded best results.The OC we identified for remissionmay be used to improve th…

research product

Excess costs of social anxiety disorder in Germany

Abstract Background Social anxiety disorder is one of the most frequent mental disorders. It is often associated with mental comorbidities and causes a high economic burden. The aim of our analysis was to estimate the excess costs of patients with social anxiety disorder compared to persons without anxiety disorder in Germany. Methods Excess costs of social anxiety disorder were determined by comparing two data sets. Patient data came from the SOPHO-NET study A1 (n=495), whereas data of persons without anxiety disorder originated from a representative phone survey (n=3213) of the general German population. Missing data were handled by “Multiple Imputation by Chained Equations”. Both data se…

research product

Changes of attachment characteristics during psychotherapy of patients with social anxiety disorder : results from the SOPHO-Net trial

Objectives Within a randomized controlled trial contrasting the outcome of manualized cognitive-behavioral (CBT) and short term psychodynamic therapy (PDT) compared to a waiting list condition (the SOPHO-Net trial), we set out to test whether self-reported attachment characteristics change during the treatments and if these changes differ between treatments. Research design and methods 495 patients from the SOPHO-Net trial (54.5% female, mean age 35.2 years) who were randomized to either CBT, PDT or waiting list (WL) completed the partner-related revised Experiences in Close Relationships Questionnaire (ECR-R) before and after treatment and at 6 and 12 months follow-up. The Liebowitz Social…

research product

SOPHO-NET – Forschungsverbund zur Psychotherapie der Sozialen Phobie

This paper presents the Social Phobia Psychotherapy Research Network (SOPHO-NET). SOPHO-NET is among the five research networks on psychotherapy funded by "Bundesministerium fur Bildung und Forschung". The research program encompasses a coordinated group of studies of social phobia. In the central project (Study A), a multi-center randomized controlled trial, refined models of manualized cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and manualized short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (STPP) are compared in the treatment of social phobia. A sample of n=512 outpatients will be randomized to either CBT, STPP or wait list. For quality assurance and treatment integrity, a specific project has been establ…

research product

Long-term cost-effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy versus psychodynamic therapy in social anxiety disorder.

Background To determine the cost-effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) versus psychodynamic therapy (PDT) in the treatment of social anxiety disorder after a follow-up of 30 months from a societal perspective. Methods This analysis was conducted alongside the multicenter SOPHO-NET trial; adults with a primary diagnosis of social anxiety disorder received CBT (n = 209) or PDT (n = 207). Data on health care utilization and productivity loss were collected at baseline, after 6 months (posttreatment), and three further follow-ups to calculate direct and indirect costs. Anxiety-free days (AFDs) calculated based on remission and response were used as measure of effect. The increment…

research product

Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS): Optimal cut points for remission and response in a German sample

The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) is the most frequently used instrument to assess social anxiety disorder (SAD) in clinical research and practice. Both a self-reported (LSAS-SR) and a clinician-administered (LSAS-CA) version are available. The aim of the present study was to define optimal cut-off (OC) scores for remission and response to treatment for the LSAS in a German sample. Data of N = 311 patients with SAD were used who had completed psychotherapeutic treatment within a multicentre randomized controlled trial. Diagnosis of SAD and reduction in symptom severity according to the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th editi…

research product