Citation

Hadley W, Houck C, Brown LK, Spitalnick JS, Ferrer M, Barker D. J. Pediatr. Psychol. 2019; 44(4): 425-435.

Affiliation

Bradley/Hasbro Children's Research Center/Rhode Island Hospital and the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Oxford University Press)

DOI

10.1093/jpepsy/jsy092

PMID

30551157

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the current pilot study was to evaluate the acceptability and preliminary impact of using immersive virtual reality environments (IVREs) paired with a brief emotion regulation and risk reduction intervention (ER + IVRE) relative to this same intervention content paired with role-plays (ER + RP).

METHODS: Eighty-five adolescents attending middle school (grades 6th-8th; ages 12-15 years) in an urban northeast city were recruited and randomized to ER + IVRE (n = 44) or ER + RP (n = 41) and had complete data. Data examining acceptability, feasibility, sexual knowledge and attitudes, and ER were collected at baseline and 3 months after intervention completion. Analyses of covariance controlling for baseline scores were used to evaluate study outcomes. Within and between intervention effect sizes were calculated with effect sizes ≥.20 considered meaningful.

RESULTS: At the 3-month follow-up assessment, several within intervention condition effect sizes were found to exceed d = 0.20 across the measured sexual attitudes and ER outcomes. Between intervention analyses found that adolescents randomized to ER + IVRE attended more intervention sessions, reported less difficulty accessing ER strategies (d = 0.46), and reported higher emotional self-efficacy (d = 0.20) at the 3-month follow-up relative to adolescents randomized to the ER + RP intervention.

CONCLUSIONS: This study provides preliminary evidence that using virtual reality environments to enhance ER skill building in risk situations was acceptable, feasible to deliver, and positively impacted ER abilities.

Language: en