Internet-delivered interpretation training reduces worry and anxiety in individuals with generalized anxiety disorder: A randomized controlled experiment.

Objective: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a debilitating condition, characterized by negative interpretations about ambiguous situations. This study tested whether entirely internet-delivered interpretation training [cognitive bias modification (CBM)] versus control promotes positive and reduces worry in individuals with GAD, or without depression. Method: A two-arm (CBM; control) parallel-group randomized controlled experiment. Assessments were preintervention (T0), postintervention (T1), 1-month (T2) postintervention, 3-month (T3) postintervention. Participants GAD (with comorbid depression) randomly allocated to either CBM (n = 115) 115). Participants, but not researchers, blind condition. completed up 10 online sessions across 1 month. Interpretation [coprimary outcomes: scrambled sentence test (SST), recognition (RT)], number of thought intrusions during breathing focus task measured at T0 T1. Self-reported levels [Penn State Worry Questionnaire-trait (PSWQ trait); Penn Questionnaire-past week weekly)], [Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7)], depression [Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)], rumination [Ruminative Response Scale (RRS)], repetitive thinking [RNT; Repetitive Thinking (RTQ-trait)] assessed T0-T3. Results: The per-protocol analyses included N 186 participants (CBM n 94; 92). As predicted, we found moderate-to-large effects on the primary outcome Secondary outcomes T1 self-reported symptoms T2 all significantly lower All one effect (trait RNT) sustained T3. Conclusions: In this study, that fully ameliorated core features 3 months posttraining. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, rights reserved).