TY - JOUR
T1 - The use of virtual reality for managing psychological distress in adolescents
T2 - Systematic review
AU - Kelson, Joshua N.
AU - Ridout, Brad
AU - Steinbeck, Katharine
AU - Campbell, Andrew J.
N1 - Funding Information:
This project was resourced by the Wellbeing Health & Youth Centre of Research Excellence in Adolescent Health, funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHRMC).
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright 2021, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers 2021.
PY - 2021/10/13
Y1 - 2021/10/13
N2 - Acute and chronic psychological distress are prevalent during adolescence and can have negative impacts on adolescents in all life domains. The aim of this systematic review was to appraise the use of virtual reality (VR) interventions to manage symptoms of psychological distress symptoms among adolescents. MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO, and Scopus databases were searched up to June 2020. Available citations were de-duplicated and screened by two authors using title and abstract information. A total of 301 articles were retained for full-Text evaluation next to eligibility criteria. Empirical studies of all designs and comparator groups were included if these appraised the impact of an immersive VR intervention on any standardized measure indicative of psychological distress in an adolescent sample. Data were extracted into a standardized coding sheet. Results were tabulated and discussed with a narrative synthesis due to the heterogeneity between studies. A total of seven studies met inclusion criteria. There were four randomized controlled trials and three uncontrolled pilot studies on new VR interventions. Distress-related issues included: state-Anxiety, venepuncture, risk taking, public speaking anxiety, social anxiety disorder, sexual victimization, and chemotherapy administration. All studies reported significant changes on outcome measures after VR treatment. Six studies reported small-To-large reductions in symptoms. The average attrition rate was 3.6 percent during the active VR treatment phase. Treatment acceptability was high in the studies that assessed user engagement factors. The VR technology can provide a safe, rapidly efficacious, and acceptable treatment modality for managing psychological distress in several key adolescent populations.
AB - Acute and chronic psychological distress are prevalent during adolescence and can have negative impacts on adolescents in all life domains. The aim of this systematic review was to appraise the use of virtual reality (VR) interventions to manage symptoms of psychological distress symptoms among adolescents. MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO, and Scopus databases were searched up to June 2020. Available citations were de-duplicated and screened by two authors using title and abstract information. A total of 301 articles were retained for full-Text evaluation next to eligibility criteria. Empirical studies of all designs and comparator groups were included if these appraised the impact of an immersive VR intervention on any standardized measure indicative of psychological distress in an adolescent sample. Data were extracted into a standardized coding sheet. Results were tabulated and discussed with a narrative synthesis due to the heterogeneity between studies. A total of seven studies met inclusion criteria. There were four randomized controlled trials and three uncontrolled pilot studies on new VR interventions. Distress-related issues included: state-Anxiety, venepuncture, risk taking, public speaking anxiety, social anxiety disorder, sexual victimization, and chemotherapy administration. All studies reported significant changes on outcome measures after VR treatment. Six studies reported small-To-large reductions in symptoms. The average attrition rate was 3.6 percent during the active VR treatment phase. Treatment acceptability was high in the studies that assessed user engagement factors. The VR technology can provide a safe, rapidly efficacious, and acceptable treatment modality for managing psychological distress in several key adolescent populations.
KW - adolescents
KW - anxiety
KW - distress
KW - mental health
KW - therapy
KW - virtual reality
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U2 - 10.1089/cyber.2021.0090
DO - 10.1089/cyber.2021.0090
M3 - Article
C2 - 34558970
AN - SCOPUS:85117614408
VL - 24
SP - 633
EP - 641
JO - Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking
JF - Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking
SN - 1094-9313
IS - 10
ER -