University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Psychiatry, PO Box 30 001, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands.
University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Psychiatry, PO Box 30 001, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands.
Schizophr Res. 2018 Feb;192:96-101. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2017.04.034. Epub 2017 Apr 23.
Experimentally studying the influence of social environments on mental health and behavior is challenging, as social context is difficult to standardize in laboratory settings. Virtual Reality (VR) enables studying social interaction in terms of interpersonal distance in a more ecologically valid manner. Regulation of interpersonal distance may be abnormal in patients with psychotic disorders and influenced by environmental stress, symptoms or distress.
To investigate interpersonal distance in people with a psychotic disorder and at ultrahigh risk for psychosis (UHR) compared to siblings and controls in virtual social environments, and explore the relationship between clinical characteristics and interpersonal distance.
Nineteen UHR patients, 52 patients with psychotic disorders, 40 siblings of patients with a psychotic disorder and 47 controls were exposed to virtual cafés. In five virtual café visits, participants were exposed to different levels of social stress, in terms of crowdedness, ethnicity and hostility. Measures on interpersonal distance, distress and state paranoia were obtained. Baseline measures included trait paranoia, social anxiety, depressive, positive and negative symptoms.
Interpersonal distance increased when social stressors were present in the environment. No difference in interpersonal distance regulation was found between the groups. Social anxiety and distress were positively associated with interpersonal distance in the total sample.
This VR paradigm indicates that interpersonal distance regulation in response to environmental social stressors is unaltered in people with psychosis or UHR. Environmental stress, social anxiety and distress trigger both people with and without psychosis to maintain larger interpersonal distances in social situations.
在实验室环境中，研究社会环境对心理健康和行为的影响具有挑战性，因为社会环境很难标准化。虚拟现实（VR）使人们能够以更生态有效的方式研究人际距离方面的社会互动。精神障碍患者的人际距离调节可能异常，并受到环境压力、症状或痛苦的影响。
与精神障碍患者的兄弟姐妹和对照组相比，在虚拟社交环境中，调查精神病高危人群（UHR）和精神障碍患者的人际距离，并探讨临床特征与人际距离之间的关系。
19 名 UHR 患者、52 名精神障碍患者、40 名精神障碍患者的兄弟姐妹和 47 名对照组被暴露于虚拟咖啡馆中。在五次虚拟咖啡馆访问中，参与者暴露于不同程度的社会压力下，包括拥挤程度、种族和敌意。测量了人际距离、痛苦和状态妄想。基线测量包括特质性妄想、社交焦虑、抑郁、阳性和阴性症状。
当环境中存在社会压力源时，人际距离会增加。在各组之间，人际距离调节没有差异。社交焦虑和痛苦与总样本中的人际距离呈正相关。
这项 VR 范式表明，对环境社会压力源的人际距离调节在精神病或 UHR 患者中没有改变。环境压力、社交焦虑和痛苦会促使精神病患者和非精神病患者在社交场合保持更大的人际距离。
