Sutori Sara, Eliasson Emma Therése, Mura Francesca, Ortiz Victor, Catrambonephd Vincenzo, Hadlaczky Gergö, Todorov Ivo, Alfeo Antonio Luca, Cardi Valentina, Cimino Mario G C A, Mioni Giovanna, Raya Mariano Alcañiz, Valenza Gaetano, Carli Vladimir, Gentili Claudio
National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, Department of Learning, Informatics, Management and Ethics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
JMIR Form Res. 2025 Apr 16;9:e68132. doi: 10.2196/68132.
There is a clear need for enhanced mental health assessment, depressive symptom (DS) evaluation being no exception. A promising approach to this aim is using virtual reality (VR), which entails the potential of adding a wider set of assessment domains with enhanced ecological validity. However, whilst several studies have used VR for both diagnostic and treatment purposes, its acceptance, in particular how exposure to virtual environments affects populations with psychiatric conditions remains unknown.
This study aims to report on the acceptability, usability, and cybersickness levels of a pilot VR environment designed for the purpose of differentiating between individuals with DSs.
The exploratory study, conducted in Italy, included 50 healthy controls and 50 young adults with mild-to-moderate DSs (without the need for a formal diagnosis). The study used an observational design with approximately 30 minutes of VR exposure followed by a self-report questionnaire battery. The battery included a questionnaire based on the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability, the System Usability Scale as well as the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire.
Results indicate that the majority found VR acceptable for the purposes of mental health screening and treatment. However, for diagnostics, there was a clear preference for VR to be used by mental health professionals as a supplementary tool, as opposed to a stand-alone solution. In practice, following exposure to the pilot VR environment, generally, good levels of acceptability and usability were reported, but areas in need of improvement were identified (such as self-efficacy). Self-reported cybersickness levels were comparable to literature averages but were considerably higher among those with DSs.
These findings raise questions about the potential interplay between underlying somatic symptoms of depression and VR-induced cybersickness and call for more attention from the scientific community both in terms of methodology as well as potential clinical and theoretical implications. Conclusively, user support indicates a potential for VR to aid mental health assessment, but further research is needed to understand how exposure to virtual environments might affect populations with varying severity and other forms of psychiatric symptoms.
INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.1186/ISRCTN16396369.
显然需要加强心理健康评估，抑郁症状（DS）评估也不例外。实现这一目标的一种有前景的方法是使用虚拟现实（VR），这有可能增加一系列具有更高生态效度的评估领域。然而，尽管有几项研究已将VR用于诊断和治疗目的，但其可接受性，特别是接触虚拟环境如何影响患有精神疾病的人群仍不清楚。
本研究旨在报告为区分患有DS的个体而设计的试点VR环境的可接受性、可用性和晕动症水平。
在意大利进行的这项探索性研究包括50名健康对照者和50名患有轻度至中度DS的年轻人（无需正式诊断）。该研究采用观察性设计，让参与者进行约30分钟的VR暴露，随后进行一系列自我报告问卷调查。这些问卷包括基于可接受性理论框架的问卷、系统可用性量表以及模拟器晕动症问卷。
结果表明，大多数人认为VR可用于心理健康筛查和治疗。然而，对于诊断而言，显然更倾向于让心理健康专业人员将VR用作辅助工具，而非独立解决方案。在实际应用中，接触试点VR环境后，总体而言，报告的可接受性和可用性水平良好，但也发现了需要改进的方面（如自我效能感）。自我报告的晕动症水平与文献中的平均水平相当，但在患有DS的人群中要高得多。
这些发现引发了关于抑郁症潜在躯体症状与VR诱发的晕动症之间潜在相互作用的问题，并呼吁科学界在方法以及潜在的临床和理论意义方面给予更多关注。最终，用户反馈表明VR有辅助心理健康评估的潜力，但需要进一步研究以了解接触虚拟环境如何影响不同严重程度和其他形式精神症状的人群。
国际注册报告识别码（IRRID）：RR2 - 10.1186/ISRCTN16396369。
