@article{ref1,
title="Effects of safety behaviors on fear reduction during exposure",
journal="Behaviour research and therapy",
year="2010",
author="Hood, Heather K. and Antony, Martin M. and Koerner, Naomi and Monson, Candice M.",
volume="48",
number="12",
pages="1161-1169",
abstract="The use of safety behaviors has been considered one of the primary maintaining mechanisms of anxiety disorders; however, evidence suggests that they are not always detrimental to treatment success (Milosevic & Radomsky, 2008). This study examined the effects of safety behaviors on behavioral, cognitive, and subjective indicators of fear during exposure for fear of spiders. A two-stage design was used to examine fear reduction and approach distance during an in vivo exposure task for participants (N=43) assigned to either a safety behavior use (SBU) or no safety behavior use (NSB) condition. Overall, both groups reported significant and comparable reductions in self-reported anxiety and negative beliefs about spiders at posttest and 1-week follow-up. Participants in the SBU group approached the spider more quickly than did participants in the NSB condition; however, participants in the SBU condition showed a small but significant decrease in approach distance at follow-up. These results call for a reconceptualization of the impact of safety behaviors on in vivo exposure.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0005-7967",
doi="10.1016/j.brat.2010.08.006",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2010.08.006"
}