Machulska Alla, Eiler Tanja Joan, Kleinke Kristian, Grünewald Armin, Brück Rainer, Jahn Katharina, Niehaves Björn, Klucken Tim
Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Siegen, Siegen, Germany.
Medical Informatics and Micro Systems Engineering, University of Siegen, Siegen, Germany; Life Science Faculty, University of Siegen, Siegen, Germany.
Behav Res Ther. 2021 Jun;141:103858. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2021.103858. Epub 2021 Apr 2.
Automatic approach biases toward smoking-related cues have been implicated in the development and maintenance of addictive behaviors. Studies aiming at modifying such biases have shown promise in changing maladaptive approach tendencies for smoking cues and reducing smoking behavior. However, training effects tend to be small and partly inconsistent. The present randomized-controlled trial incorporated virtual reality (VR) technology into Approach Bias Modification (ABM) to improve efficacy. One-hundred-eight smokers attended behavioral counseling for smoking cessation and were thereafter randomized to receive VR-ABM or VR-control training. During VR-ABM, participants trained to implicitly avoid smoking-related objects and to approach alternative objects, while no such contingency existed in the VR-control condition. Trainings were administered in six sessions within a two-week period. Assessments were conducted at baseline, post-intervention (three weeks after baseline), and at follow-up (seven weeks after baseline). VR-ABM did not change approach biases, nor other cognitive biases, but it was superior in reducing daily smoking. However, this effect was limited to the two-week training period. Both groups improved in other smoking- and health-related variables across time. Future work should continue to investigate working mechanisms of ABM, in particular crucial training ingredients. VR could prove valuable for public health as the potential of VR-based treatments is large and not fully explored.
对吸烟相关线索的自动趋近偏向已被认为与成瘾行为的发展和维持有关。旨在改变这种偏向的研究已显示出在改变对吸烟线索的适应不良趋近倾向以及减少吸烟行为方面具有前景。然而，训练效果往往较小且部分不一致。本随机对照试验将虚拟现实（VR）技术纳入趋近偏向修正（ABM）以提高疗效。108名吸烟者参加了戒烟行为咨询，之后被随机分配接受VR-ABM或VR对照训练。在VR-ABM期间，参与者训练隐式地避开与吸烟相关的物体并趋近替代物体，而在VR对照条件下不存在这种关联。训练在两周内分六个阶段进行。在基线、干预后（基线后三周）和随访（基线后七周）进行评估。VR-ABM并没有改变趋近偏向，也没有改变其他认知偏向，但在减少每日吸烟量方面更具优势。然而，这种效果仅限于两周的训练期。两组在其他与吸烟和健康相关的变量上随时间推移均有改善。未来的工作应继续研究ABM的作用机制，特别是关键的训练要素。VR可能对公共卫生具有重要价值，因为基于VR的治疗潜力巨大且尚未得到充分探索。
