Contemporary Study - Capafons et al

• Aim of - Capafons et al.

  -To assess the effectiveness of SD in the treatment of fear of flying.

  -To see whether fear of flying reduced spontaneously without treatment

  -To demonstrate that SD remains comparable in effectiveness with newer therapies
• Procedure of Capafons et al - Sample

  Sample= 41 adults with a fear of flying took part (24 female, 17 male), 

  Matched for sex, age and anxiety level. 

  Mean age for treatment group= 29.65

  Mean age for control group= 34.05
• Procedure of Capafons et al - Control Group

  -had fear of flying assessed at 2 time points without treatment in between

  For ethical reasons the control group did later receive treatment (waiting control group)
• Procedure of Capafons et al - Experimental Group

  • Had fear of flying assessed, 

  then treated then assessed again

  • Treatment involved 12-15 one-hour sessions (2 per week)
• Procedure of Capafons et al - How was fear of flying assessed?

  Participants completed:

  -Fear of Flying Scale

  -the Scales of Expectations of Danger and Anxiety

  Physiological measures taken:

  -muscle tension and heart rate (in response to watching a videotape of flying in an armchair metres from screen)
• Findings of Capafons et al

  In the control group there were no significant differences on any of the measures between from the first and second assessment.

  There were no significant differences in anxiety in the first assessment between

   the control and treatment groups.

  There were highly significant reductions in reported anxiety and all physiological measures except body temp, in the treatment condition for before and after treatment.

  90% of participants in the treatment condition had a significant reduction in symptoms
• Conclusions of Capafons et al

  These results indicate that SD is a highly effective treatment for fear of

  flying, with a success rate of 90%.

  There was no evidence of spontaneous recovery without any treatment.