Université du Québec en Outaouais, Cyberpsychology Lab, PO Box 1250, Station Hull, Gatineau, Québec, J8X 3X7, Canada.
Expert Rev Neurother. 2011 Feb;11(2):207-13. doi: 10.1586/ern.10.196.
The use of virtual reality to treat anxiety disorders in adults is gaining popularity and its efficacy is supported by numerous outcome studies. Similar research for children is lagging behind. The outcome studies on the use of virtual reality to treat anxiety disorders in children currently address only specific phobias, and all of the available trials are reviewed in this article. Despite the limited number of studies, results are very encouraging for the treatment of school and spider phobias. A study with adolescents suggests that, at least for social anxiety, exposure stimuli would be more effective if they were developed specifically for younger populations. Virtual reality may not increase children's motivation towards therapy unless their fearful apprehension is addressed before initiating the treatment.
虚拟现实在成人焦虑症治疗中的应用正逐渐普及，其疗效也得到了大量研究结果的支持。但儿童领域的相关研究则相对滞后。目前，针对儿童焦虑症使用虚拟现实治疗的研究仅涉及特定恐惧症，本文对所有现有试验进行了综述。尽管研究数量有限，但对于治疗学校恐惧症和蜘蛛恐惧症，结果非常令人鼓舞。一项针对青少年的研究表明，对于社交焦虑症，至少在暴露刺激方面，如果专门为低龄人群开发，效果会更显著。除非在开始治疗前解决儿童的恐惧情绪，否则虚拟现实可能不会提高儿童对治疗的积极性。
