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Excessive post-mortem processing after social situations, a core symptom of social anxiety disorder (SAD), is thought to contribute to the perpetuation of social anxiety by consolidating negative self-schemata. Empirical findings on actual mechanisms underlying this so-called Post-Event Processing (PEP) are still scarce. The present study sought to identify variables associated with the experience of PEP after real-life social situations in a sample of 49 individuals diagnosed with SAD. Using an ambulatory assessment approach, individuals were asked to report on each distressing social event experienced during one week. A total of 192 events were captured. Hierarchical linear modeling indicated that next to trait social anxiety, the type of social situation (performance vs. interaction situations), self-focused attention, safety behavior use, and negative affect predicted levels of PEP after social situations. These findings add to the growing literature that emphasizes the importance of situational factors for the experience of PEP, and highlight potential venues to prevent it., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Attentional biases toward social threat are a well-known phenomenon in social phobia. Recently, computer-delivered trainings have been developed to modify these patterns of attention and thereby reduce anxiety symptoms. Distribution of such attention trainings (ATs) via internet might be a promising approach in overcoming obstacles in health care utilization. However, there is no evidence supporting the effectiveness of internet-based ATs in clinical populations. The current trial examined effects of an internet-based AT on self-report measures, behavioral data and diagnostic status in individuals with social phobia (N = 56). Participants were randomly assigned to either AT using a modified dot probe paradigm or a control condition without attention modification. After training and at a 4-month follow-up, both groups showed small, albeit significant reductions in social anxiety and depression, but there was no evidence for superiority of the AT condition. The present findings question the effectiveness of internet-based ATs in social phobia. Future studies need to investigate effective variants of internet-based ATs before they can be widely applied., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)