Use of graduated behavior rehearsal, feedback, and systematic desensitization for speech anxiety.

48 17–48 yr old speech-anxious undergraduates were offered a 4-wk speech anxiety group. Ss were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: (a) graduated behavior rehearsal/feedback (GBR), (b) graduated behavior rehearsal/feedback plus systematic desensitization (GBR/SD), or (c) the no-treatment control. Each S completed a series of pre- and posttreatment tests, including the short form of the Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker and the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). A behavioral measure, the short form of the Behavioral Assessment of Speech Anxiety, was also obtained at pre- and postassessment. Except for the behavioral instrument, the battery of tests was repeated at a 6-wk follow-up. The GBR and GBR/SD treatment groups demonstrated significantly greater speech anxiety reduction than the no-treatment controls at postassessment and follow-up assessment. The exception was that the GBR group did not score significantly lower than the controls on the A-State scale of the STAI. No significant differences were found between the GBR and GBR/SD treatment conditions on any dependent measure. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)