Date of Award

5-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department/Program

Psychology

Thesis Sponsor/Dissertation Chair/Project Chair

Jeremy Fox

Committee Member

Carrie Masia Warner

Committee Member

Samantha Coyle-Eastwick

Committee Member

Brendan Rich

Abstract

Cognitive-behavioral interventions have been shown to be effective for treating social anxiety, yet few have been evaluated for racially and ethnically minoritized youth, including Black American adolescents. These interventions also do not address sociocultural factors, including racial discrimination and mental health stigma, that may shape the experience of social anxiety among Black American youth and serve as barriers to care. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct a pilot evaluation of the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary outcomes of Interacting and Changing Our Narratives (ICON), a culturally-responsive, school-based cognitive-behavioral group intervention for Black American high school students with social anxiety. Eleven students (Mage = 15.73, SD = 1.27) at an urban public high school participated in the 12-session intervention. Student attendance and satisfaction were high, providing support for feasibility and acceptability. From pre- to post-intervention, students showed decreases in clinician-rated and self-reported social anxiety symptoms, and the majority were rated as treatment responders. Heightened vigilance also decreased significantly. Although larger controlled trials are needed to establish efficacy, these findings provide initial support for ICON as a feasible, acceptable, and potentially effective intervention for Black American adolescents with social anxiety.

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