Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Berlin University of Applied Sciences and Technology, Berlin, Germany.
JMIR Ment Health. 2024 Nov 5;11:e56235. doi: 10.2196/56235.
Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) is a promising treatment approach for anxiety disorders. However, while its efficacy has been demonstrated in adults, research on the efficacy of VRET in the treatment of adolescents with anxiety disorders is largely lacking.
A pilot study was carried out to test whether exposure to a virtual reality (VR) school environment elicits state anxiety and autonomic arousal in adolescents with school anxiety (diagnoses covering social anxiety disorder or specific phobia involving school contexts). In addition, we examined whether repeated VR exposure led to a reduction in this fear response, trait school anxiety, and social anxiety symptoms. Moreover, the relationship of presence, the subjective sense of "being there," during VR exposure with anxiety measures and treatment response was examined.
In a pilot study, 10 adolescents with school anxiety (age range 14 to 17 years) participated in five VRET sessions. Self-reported state anxiety, heart rate, and presence during exposure, as well as trait school anxiety and social anxiety before and after treatment, were measured.
The VR scenario induced state anxiety and autonomic arousal. After VRET, a significant reduction in state anxiety (η=0.74) and social anxiety symptoms (d=0.82) as well as a trend toward a decrease in trait school anxiety were observed, while autonomic arousal did not change. In addition, presence during VR exposure was associated with state anxiety and treatment response.
Our findings indicate the feasibility and potential effectiveness of VRET as a treatment method for symptoms of school and social anxiety in adolescents.
虚拟现实暴露疗法（VRET）是一种有前途的焦虑症治疗方法。然而，尽管它在成人中的疗效已得到证实，但关于 VRET 治疗青少年焦虑症的疗效的研究还很缺乏。
进行了一项初步研究，以测试在有学校焦虑症的青少年（包括社交焦虑障碍或特定恐惧症涉及学校背景的诊断）中，暴露于虚拟现实（VR）学校环境是否会引起状态焦虑和自主唤醒。此外，我们还检查了重复的 VR 暴露是否会导致这种恐惧反应、特质性学校焦虑和社交焦虑症状减少。此外，还检查了在 VR 暴露期间存在的主观“身临其境”感与焦虑测量和治疗反应的关系。
在一项初步研究中，10 名有学校焦虑症的青少年（年龄在 14 至 17 岁之间）参加了五次 VRET 疗程。在治疗前后测量了自我报告的状态焦虑、心率和暴露期间的存在，以及特质性学校焦虑和社交焦虑。
VR 情景引起了状态焦虑和自主唤醒。经过 VRET 后，状态焦虑（η=0.74）和社交焦虑症状（d=0.82）显著降低，特质性学校焦虑也有降低的趋势，而自主唤醒没有变化。此外，VR 暴露期间的存在与状态焦虑和治疗反应相关。
我们的发现表明 VRET 作为治疗青少年学校和社交焦虑症状的一种方法具有可行性和潜在有效性。
