Expressive Writing Therapy dan Exposure Therapy untuk Mengurangi Kecemasan Sosial pada Remaja Korban Bullying

The increasing number of bullying cases in social environments has now extended to the educational sphere. Bullying is a violent behavior, whether verbal or physical, that can lead victims to experience psychological disorders such as social anxiety. Social anxiety is a persistent and irrational fear, typically related to social situations. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of expressive writing therapy combined with exposure therapy in reducing social anxiety among adolescents who have been victims of bullying. The subjects in this study consisted of 15 individuals divided into three groups: experimental group one, experimental group two, and a control group, with the following inclusion criteria: (1) adolescents aged 12–18 years, (2) victims of bullying, and (3) having moderate to high levels of social anxiety based on a social anxiety scale. The instrument used to measure social anxiety was the SAS-A (Social Anxiety Scale-Adolescent), and the MPV (Multidimensional Peer-Victimization Scale) was used for screening bullying victims. Data analysis was conducted using the Wilcoxon test and the Kruskal-Wallis test. Statistical analysis results indicated that expressive writing therapy combined with exposure therapy was more effective in reducing social anxiety in adolescent bullying victims compared to expressive writing therapy alone.