Kiernan Grace, Kohl Pauline, Tas Ekincan, Berg Frederic, Wolf Mario, Nguyen Phuong-Mi, Valmaggia Lucia, Rus-Calafell Mar
Mental Health Research and Treatment Centre, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
Department of Digital Engineering, Ruhr Uaniversity Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2025 Mar 17. doi: 10.1007/s00127-025-02871-x.
Despite evidence linking psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) and social functioning deficits in youth at the risk of transitioning to psychosis, this association remains poorly understood. To address this, we explored the association between components of social performance and PLEs in adolescents aged 13-18 using a novel virtual reality (VR) paradigm for real-time assessment.
Adolescents (N = 146) aged 13-18 were recruited as part of a larger cohort study conducted by the same research group (YVORI_PRO) and invited to participate via the following criteria: those reporting highly indicative positive PLEs (HIP, N = 88) and those reporting no or less indicative PLEs (no-HIP, N = 58). Self-report, behavioural and physiological components of social performance were collected using a portable VR headset and a medical wristband. Participants entered a virtual recreational area with three levels of social ambiguity and were encouraged to interact with avatars. MANOVA was performed to check for overall group differences and repeated measures ANOVAs were conducted to examine the effects of group and level of ambiguity, as well as their interaction, on daily social performance.
During virtual social interactions, adolescents with HIP reported higher levels of anxiety, fear of negative evaluation (FNE) and avoidance than the no-HIP group. No significant difference between groups was found for self-confidence. With increasing social ambiguity in VR, anxiety, FNE and avoidance increased in both groups, while self-confidence decreased. No significant group differences were found in behavioural or physiological components of social performance. Interpersonal distance and pulse rate increased significantly with increasing level of ambiguity, but pulse rate variability and skin conductance did not.
The results suggest that adolescents with HIP may present specific difficulties related to social performance, which may carry additional psychosis risk. The new VR social scenario appears to be an acceptable, safe and effective tool to measure social performance in adolescents experiencing PLEs.
尽管有证据表明，有向精神病转变风险的青少年中，类精神病体验（PLEs）与社会功能缺陷有关，但这种关联仍未得到充分理解。为了解决这一问题，我们使用一种新颖的虚拟现实（VR）范式进行实时评估，探讨了13 - 18岁青少年的社会表现成分与PLEs之间的关联。
作为同一研究团队（YVORI_PRO）进行的一项更大队列研究的一部分，招募了13 - 18岁的青少年（N = 146），并通过以下标准邀请他们参与：报告高度指示性阳性PLEs的青少年（HIP，N = 88）和报告无或较少指示性PLEs的青少年（无HIP，N = 58）。使用便携式VR头戴设备和医用腕带收集社会表现的自我报告、行为和生理成分。参与者进入一个具有三个社会模糊程度等级的虚拟娱乐区域，并被鼓励与虚拟角色互动。进行多变量方差分析以检查总体组间差异，并进行重复测量方差分析以检验组、模糊程度等级及其交互作用对日常社会表现的影响。
在虚拟社交互动过程中，与无HIP组相比，有HIP的青少年报告的焦虑、对负面评价的恐惧（FNE）和回避水平更高。两组之间在自信方面未发现显著差异。随着VR中社会模糊程度的增加，两组的焦虑、FNE和回避都增加，而自信下降。在社会表现的行为或生理成分方面未发现显著的组间差异。人际距离和脉搏率随着模糊程度等级的增加而显著增加，但脉搏率变异性和皮肤电导率没有变化。
结果表明，有HIP的青少年可能在社会表现方面存在特定困难，这可能带来额外的精神病风险。新的VR社交场景似乎是一种可接受、安全且有效的工具，用于测量经历PLEs的青少年的社会表现。
