HablaRÉ: Self-applied Online Training for Correcting Emotional Reasoning Biases in Public Speaking Anxiety.

NCT07051135 | Recruiting DMC

• 1 other identifier: CEISH/86/2023-01
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 20
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The project aims to assess the feasibility of self-administered training for individuals with public speaking anxiety, specifically targeting the reduction of emotional reasoning bias. It seeks to evaluate the interventions' usability, acceptability, satisfaction and adherence/compliance rates. In addition, the study intends to determine the feasibility of conducting a potential randomised clinical trial to evaluate the true impact of the intervention on emotional reasoning biases and public speaking anxiety levels.

Conditions

Public Speaking Anxiety

Keywords

Emotional Reasoning; Public Speaking Anxiety; Anxiety; Emotional disorders; Feasibility; Internet intervention; Psychological treatment

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Usability and acceptability

  The System Usability Scale (SUS) will be used to measure usability and acceptability (Brooke, 1996; Castilla et al., 2023). Patients rate their agreement with statements on a 5-point Likert scale (from 1, "Strongly Disagree", to 5, "Strongly Agree") as part of the SUS, which evaluates the usability of ICT applications using 10 items. The item values, which range from 0 to 4, are added up, and the total is multiplied by 2.5 to determine the overall score, which is expressed as a percentage (0-100). Better perceived usability are indicated by a larger percentage (Bangor et al., 2008).

  2 evaluations: at post-treatment (just after treatment completion on the 10th day) and at 1-month follow up.

• Satisfaction with online training

  Using questions created by our team and previously used in technology-related studies, satisfaction with the intervention will be evaluated (Suso-Ribera, Castilla, Zaragozá, Ribera-Canudas, Botella, \& García-Palacios, 2018). "To what extent are you satisfied with the app?" and "To what extent would you recommend the app?" are two examples of questions.

  2 evaluations: at post-treatment (just after treatment completion on the 10th day) and at 1-month follow up.

• Adherence rates

  Adherence rates will be assessed according to the number of sessions completed by participants. Both the number of participants who fully complete the intervention (including the intervention, the final evaluation and the follow-up) and those who drop out will be considered. In these cases, it will be specifically identified at which stage of the process the drop-out occurred.

  2 evaluations: at post-treatment (just after treatment completion on the 10th day) and at 1-month follow up.

• User interaction with the platform

  Interaction with the platform will be measured using access logs, specifically tracking the number of times participants log in for each session.

  1 evaluation: at post-treatment (just after treatment completion on the 10th day).

Secondary Outcomes (6)

• Changes in ERPSAS Emotional Reasoning Public Speaking Anxiety Scale

  3 evaluations: at baseline before treatment onset, at treatment completion on the 10th day (Post-treatment evaluation) and 1-month follow up. Changes will be evaluated from pre-treatment to post-treatment and from post-treatment to 1 month follow-up.

• Changes in Public Speaking Anxiety Scale

  3 evaluations: at baseline before treatment onset, at treatment completion on the 10th day (Post-treatment evaluation) and 1-month follow up. Changes will be evaluated from pre-treatment to post-treatment and from post-treatment to 1 month follow-up.

• Changes in Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale

  3 evaluations: at baseline before treatment onset, at treatment completion on the 10th day (Post-treatment evaluation) and 1-month follow up. Changes will be evaluated from pre-treatment to post-treatment and from post-treatment to 1 month follow-up.

• Changes in Overall Depression Severity and Impairment Scale

  3 evaluations: at baseline before treatment onset, at treatment completion on the 10th day (Post-treatment evaluation) and 1-month follow up. Changes will be evaluated from pre-treatment to post-treatment and from post-treatment to 1 month follow-up.

• Changes in Quality Life Index

  3 evaluations: at baseline before treatment onset, at treatment completion on the 10th day (Post-treatment evaluation) and 1-month follow up. Changes will be evaluated from pre-treatment to post-treatment and from post-treatment to 1 month follow-up.

Study Arms (1)

Online treatment: Emotional Reasoning bias correction training

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants who meet the inclusion criteria will receive an Emotional Reasoning bias correction training called 'HablaRÉ' consisting of 10 self- administered sessions, delivered online with a duration of no more than 30 minutes each.

Device: "HablaRÉ": Emotional Reasoning bias correction training

Interventions

"HablaRÉ": Emotional Reasoning bias correction training DEVICE

The "HablaRÉ" bias correction training for Emotional Reasoning consists of ten online, self-administered sessions that last no more than 30 minutes each. These courses include practice tasks in addition to textual and audio-visual content. The explanation of ER bias, motivation to change, emotional psychoeducation, and the distinction between emotionally biassed and objective information are all addressed.

Online treatment: Emotional Reasoning bias correction training

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Be of legal age.
• Accept the informed consent.
• Adequately understand/read Spanish.
• Have access to a mobile device or computer with an Internet connection.
• Not receiving any other psychological treatment for public speaking anxiety during the study period.
• Have a score of 43 or higher on the Emotional reasoning scale (ERPSAS) AND/OR a score of 55 or higher on the Spanish version of the Public Speaking Anxiety Scale (PSAS-S) for fear of public speaking.
• If taking prescribed medication for anxiety/depression, have had no changes in dosage for at least one month before the procedure.

You may not qualify if:

• Not accepting the informed consent.
• Being a minor.
• Having a severe mental disorder (bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or other psychotic disorders) or substance abuse (alcohol or other substances) or having active suicidal plans (suicide item in the ODSIS depression questionnaire ≥ 2) that would prevent participation in the program.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Universitat Jaume I: lead

Study Sites (1)

University Jaume I

Castellon, Castellón, 12071, Spain

RECRUITING

Related Publications (3)

• Lommen MJ, Engelhard IM, van den Hout MA, Arntz A. Reducing emotional reasoning: an experimental manipulation in individuals with fear of spiders. Cogn Emot. 2013;27(8):1504-12. doi: 10.1080/02699931.2013.795482. Epub 2013 May 16.

  PMID: 23679871 BACKGROUND

• Arntz A, Rauner M, van den Hout M. "If I feel anxious, there must be danger": ex-consequentia reasoning in inferring danger in anxiety disorders. Behav Res Ther. 1995 Nov;33(8):917-25. doi: 10.1016/0005-7967(95)00032-s.

  PMID: 7487851 BACKGROUND

• Paredes-Mealla M, Martinez-Borba V, Miragall M, Garcia-Palacios A, Banos RM, Suso-Ribera C. Is there evidence that emotional reasoning processing underlies emotional disorders in adults? A systematic review. Curr Psychol. 2022 Nov 9:1-17. doi: 10.1007/s12144-022-03884-4. Online ahead of print.

  PMID: 36406838 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Anxiety Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Macarena Paredes-Mealla, PhD Student

  Universitat Jaume I

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Carlos Suso-Ribera, PhD

  Universitat Jaume I

  STUDY DIRECTOR

• Azucena García Palacios, PhD

  Universitat Jaume I

  STUDY DIRECTOR

Central Study Contacts

Macarena Paredes-Mealla, PhD Student

CONTACT

+34 964376252; [email protected]

Carlos Suso-Ribera, Dr.

CONTACT

[email protected]

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: DEVICE FEASIBILITY
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 26, 2025
• First Posted: July 3, 2025
• Study Start: May 1, 2025
• Primary Completion: July 1, 2025
• Study Completion: September 1, 2025
• Last Updated: July 3, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

ES (1)