Dataset Information

Pilot randomized trial of self-guided virtual reality exposure therapy for social anxiety disorder.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRE) has shown promising efficacy for the treatment of social anxiety disorder (SAD) and related comorbidities. However, most trials conducted to date were therapist-led, and little is known about the efficacy of self-guided VRE. Therefore, this randomized controlled trial (RCT) aimed to determine the efficacy of a self-directed VRE for SAD.

Method

Forty-four community-dwelling or undergraduate adults diagnosed with SAD based on the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview were randomly assigned to VRE designed to last four sessions or more (n = 26) or waitlist (WL; n = 18). Self-reported SAD severity (Social Phobia Diagnostic Questionnaire and Social Interaction Anxiety Scale), job interview anxiety (Measure of Anxiety in Selection Interviews), trait worry (Penn State Worry Questionnaire), and depression symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9) were administered at baseline, post-treatment, 3-month-follow-up (3MFU), and 6-month-follow-up (6MFU). Piecewise multilevel modeling analyses were conducted to manage clustering in the data.

Results

VRE vs. WL resulted in greater reductions in SAD symptom severity, job interview fear, and trait worry, with moderate-to-large effect sizes (Hedge's g = -0.54 to -1.11) from pre-to-post treatment. Although significant between-group differences did not emerge for change in depression, VRE led to change in depression, whereas waitlist did not. These gains were also maintained at 3MFU and 6MFU. Further, facets of presence increased during the course of VRE (g = 0.36-0.45), whereas cybersickness decreased (g = -0.43).

Discussion

Brief, self-guided VRE might ameliorate SAD and comorbid worry, for young-to-middle-aged adults with SAD. Other theoretical and practical implications were also discussed.

SUBMITTER: Zainal NH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8759454 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundVirtual reality (VR) is as effective a technique as traditional cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and a promising tool for treating panic disorder symptoms because VR exposure can be safer and has better acceptability than in vivo exposure and is more immersive than exposure through imagination. CBT techniques can be delivered more effectively using VR as well. So far, VR has required high-quality devices, but the development of mobile VR technology has improved user availability. At the same time, a well-structured form of VR can be reproduced and used anywhere. This means that VR can be used to provide a self-guided form of treatment and address the high treatment costs of evidence-based therapy and the lack of professional therapists. This study aimed to investigate the potential of self-guided VR as an alternative to high-cost treatment.ObjectiveThe main goal of this study was to offer data about the efficacy of a mobile app-based self-led VR CBT in the treatment of panic disorder.MethodsA total of 54 subjects with panic disorder were enrolled in this study and randomly assigned to either the VR treatment group or waitlist group. The VR treatment was designed to be total 12 sessions for 4 weeks. The VR treatment consists of 4 steps in which patients are gradually exposed to phobic stimuli while learning to cope with panic symptoms in each stage. The effectiveness of treatment was assessed through the Panic Disorder Severity Scale, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Body Sensations Questionnaire, Albany Panic and Phobia Questionnaire, Anxiety Sensitivity Index, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Korean Inventory of Social Avoidance and Distress Scale, Korean Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology, and Perceived Stress Scale. In addition, physiological changes using heart rate variability were evaluated.ResultsIn within-group analyses, the VR treatment group exhibited improvements in panic disorder symptoms, anxiety, and depression after 4 weeks, while the waitlist group did not show any significant improvement. Compared to the waitlist group, the VR treatment group showed significantly greater improvements in the Panic Disorder Severity Scale in both completer analysis and intention-to-treat analysis. Heart rate variability in the VR treatment group showed improvement in normalized high frequency from baseline to postassessment with no significant differences in any outcome measure between groups.ConclusionsThe self-guided, mobile app-based VR intervention was effective in the treatment of panic symptoms and restoring the autonomic nervous system demonstrating the validity of the use of VR for self-guided treatment. VR treatment can be a cost-effective therapeutic approach.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04985019; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04985019.

Project description:In virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) for anxiety disorders, sense of presence in the virtual environment is considered the principal mechanism that enables anxiety to be felt. Existing studies on the relation between sense of presence and level of anxiety, however, have yielded mixed results on the correlation between the two. In this meta-analysis, we reviewed publications on VRET for anxiety that included self-reported presence and anxiety. The comprehensive search of the literature identified 33 publications with a total of 1196 participants. The correlation between self-reported sense of presence and anxiety was extracted and meta-analyzed. Potential moderators such as technology characteristics, sample characteristics including age, gender and clinical status, disorder characteristics and study design characteristics such as measurements were also examined. The random effects analysis showed a medium effect size for the correlation between sense of presence and anxiety (r = .28; 95% CI: 0.18-0.38). Moderation analyses revealed that the effect size of the correlation differed across different anxiety disorders, with a large effect size for fear of animals (r = .50; 95% CI: 0.30-0.66) and a no to small effect size for social anxiety disorder (r = .001; 95% CI: -0.19-0.19). Further, the correlation between anxiety and presence was stronger in studies with participants who met criteria for an anxiety disorder than in studies with a non-clinical population. Trackers with six degrees of freedom and displays with a larger field of view resulted in higher effect sizes, compared to trackers with three degrees of freedom and displays with a smaller field of view. In addition, no difference in effect size was found for the type of presence measurement and the type of anxiety measurement. This meta-analysis confirms the positive relation between sense of presence and anxiety and demonstrates that this relation can be affected by various moderating factors.

Project description:BackgroundDistraction-based therapies, such as virtual reality (VR), have been used to reduce pain during acutely painful procedures. However, distraction alone cannot produce prolonged pain reduction to manage sustained postoperative pain. Therefore, the integration of VR with other pain-reducing therapies, like guided relaxation, may enhance its clinical impact.ObjectiveThe goal of this pilot study was to assess the impact of a single guided relaxation-based VR (VR-GR) session on postoperative pain and anxiety reduction in children. We also explored the influence of pain catastrophizing and anxiety sensitivity on this association.MethodsA total of 51 children and adolescents (7-21 years) with postoperative pain and followed by the Acute Pain Service at Cincinnati Children's Hospital were recruited over an 8-month period to undergo a single VR-GR session. Prior to VR, the patients completed 2 questionnaires: Pain Catastrophizing Scale for Children (PCS-C) and the Child Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI). The primary outcome was a change in pain intensity following the VR-GR session (immediately, 15 minutes, and 30 minutes). The secondary outcomes included changes in pain unpleasantness and anxiety.ResultsThe VR-GR decreased pain intensity immediately (P<.001) and at 30 minutes (P=.04) after the VR session, but not at 15 minutes (P=.16) postsession. Reductions in pain unpleasantness were observed at all time intervals (P<.001 at all intervals). Anxiety was reduced immediately (P=.02) but not at 15 minutes (P=.08) or 30 minutes (P=.30) following VR-GR. Patients with higher CASI scores reported greater reductions in pain intensity (P=.04) and unpleasantness (P=.01) following VR-GR. Pain catastrophizing was not associated with changes in pain and anxiety.ConclusionsA single, short VR-GR session showed transient reductions in pain intensity, pain unpleasantness, and anxiety in children and adolescents with acute postoperative pain. The results call for a future randomized controlled trial to assess the efficacy of VR-GR.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04556747; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04556747.

Project description:BackgroundSocial anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by excessive fear of negative evaluation and humiliation in social interactions and situations. Virtual reality (VR) treatment is a promising intervention option for SAD.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to create a participatory and interactive VR intervention for SAD. Treatment progress, including the severity of symptoms and the cognitive and emotional aspects of SAD, was analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention.MethodsIn total, 32 individuals with SAD and 34 healthy control participants were enrolled in the study through advertisements for online bulletin boards at universities. A VR intervention was designed consisting of three stages (introduction, core, and finishing) and three difficulty levels (easy, medium, and hard) that could be selected by the participants. The core stage was the exposure intervention in which participants engaged in social situations. The effectiveness of treatment was assessed through Beck Anxiety inventory (BAI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Internalized Shame Scale (ISS), Post-Event Rumination Scale (PERS), Social Phobia Scale (SPS), Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS), Brief-Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (BFNE), and Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS).ResultsIn the SAD group, scores on the BAI (F=4.616, P=.009), STAI-Trait (F=4.670, P=.004), ISS (F=6.924, P=.001), PERS-negative (F=1.008, P<.001), SPS (F=8.456, P<.001), BFNE (F=6.117, P=.004), KSAD (F=13.259, P<.001), and LSAS (F=4.103, P=.009) significantly improved over the treatment process. Compared with the healthy control group before treatment, the SAD group showed significantly higher scores on all scales (P<.001), and these significant differences persisted even after treatment (P<.001). In the comparison between the VR treatment responder and nonresponder subgroups, there was no significant difference across the course of the VR session.ConclusionsThese findings indicated that a participatory and interactive VR intervention had a significant effect on alleviation of the clinical symptoms of SAD, confirming the usefulness of VR for the treatment of SAD. VR treatment is expected to be one of various beneficial therapeutic approaches in the future.Trial registrationClinical Research Information Service (CRIS) KCT0003854; https://cris.nih.go.kr/cris/search/search_result_st01.jsp?seq=13508.

Project description:OBJECTIVES:Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is one of the most common psychiatric disorders in youth, with a prevalence of about 3%-4% and increased risk of adverse long-term outcomes, such as depression. Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is considered the first-line treatment for youth with SAD, but many adolescents remain untreated due to limited accessibility to CBT. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a therapist-guided internet-delivered CBT treatment, supplemented with clinic-based group exposure sessions (BIP SOFT). DESIGN:A proof-of-concept, open clinical trial with 6-month follow-up. PARTICIPANTS:The trial was conducted at a child and adolescent psychiatric research clinic, and participants (n=30) were 13-17 years old (83% girls) with a principal diagnosis of SAD. INTERVENTION:12 weeks of intervention, consisting of nine remote therapist-guided internet-delivered CBT sessions and three group exposure sessions at the clinic for the adolescents and five internet-delivered sessions for the parents. RESULTS:Adolescents were generally satisfied with the treatment, and the completion rate of internet modules, as well as attendance at group sessions, was high. Post-treatment assessment showed a significant decrease in clinician-rated, adolescent-rated and parent-rated social anxiety (d=1.17, 0.85 and 0.79, respectively), as well as in general self-rated and parent-rated anxiety and depression (d=0.76?and 0.51), compared with pretreatment levels. Furthermore, 47% of participants no longer met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) criteria for SAD at post-treatment. At a 6-month follow-up, symptom reductions were maintained, or further improved, and 57% of participants no longer met criteria for SAD. CONCLUSION:Therapist-guided and parent-guided internet-delivered CBT, supplemented with a limited number of group exposure sessions, is a feasible and promising intervention for adolescents with SAD. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER:NCT02576171; Results.

Project description:Background: Enhanced self-focused attention plays a central role in the maintenance and treatment of Social Anxiety and is targeted in contemporary cognitive behavioral therapy. Actual developments use Virtual Reality (VR) for behavioral training. However, no VR attention training combining exposure to public speaking with shifting attention from self-focus to external focus has been investigated, and no experimental evidence exists on different kinds of external cues as targets of attention. Therefore, we investigated the effects of an attention training during public speaking in VR and examined differential effects of an external focus on nonsocial vs. social stimuli. Methods: In this randomized controlled study, highly socially anxious participants were instructed to focus on either objects or the audience within a virtual speech task. We assessed the pre-post effects on affective reactions, self-perception, and attentional processes during public speaking as well as general Social Anxiety using subjective, physiological, and eye-tracking measures. Repeated-measures analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were calculated to detect changes from pretest to posttest over both groups, and time × group interaction effects. Results: Within the analysis sample (n = 41), anxiety during public speaking and fear of negative evaluation significantly decreased, with no significant differences between groups. No significant time effect, but a significant time × group effect, was found for the looking time proportion on the audience members' heads. Follow-up tests confirmed a significant increase in the social-focus group and a significant decrease in the nonsocial-focus group. For all other variables, except external focus and fear of public speaking, significant improvements were found over both groups. Further significant time x group effects were found for positive affect during public speaking, with a significant increase in the social focus, and no significant change in the nonsocial-focus group. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that attention training to reduce self-focus can be successfully conducted in VR. Both training versions showed positive short-term effects in the highly socially anxious, with particular advantages of an external social focus concerning eye contact to the audience and positive affect. Further research should investigate whether social focus is even more advantageous long term and if reinterpretations of dysfunctional beliefs could be achieved by not avoiding social cues.