A self-guided virtual reality solution for social anxiety: Results from a randomized controlled study

IF 3.7 2区医学 Q1 PSYCHIATRY

Journal of psychiatric research Pub Date : 2024-11-04 DOI:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.10.032

Cameron Lacey , Chris Frampton , Ben Beaglehole

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective

The study examines the efficacy of a mobile application, oVRcome, which offers self-managed virtual reality exposure therapy combined with cognitive-behavioural techniques to treat social anxiety disorder.

Methods

A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted over six weeks with a waitlist delayed treatment group and follow-ups at 12 and 18 weeks. Participants were adults living in New Zealand with moderate to severe social anxiety disorder, as measured by the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS). The primary focus was on the change in LSAS scores from baseline to the sixth week. All analyses utilized the intention-to-treat data.

Results

Out of 126 randomized participants, 81 completed the six-week follow-up. The retention rate at week 6 was 67.5%. The reduction in LSAS scores was significantly greater in the active group compared to the waitlist delayed treatment group (active group mean = −35.7 [SD = 24.0]; waitlist group: mean = − 2.2 [SD = 13.5]; p < 0.001), for an effect size of 1.8.

Conclusions

The study demonstrates that oVRcome can effectively reduce social anxiety symptoms, offering a viable self-guided treatment option.

Trial registry

ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT05576259.

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社交焦虑症的自我指导虚拟现实解决方案：随机对照研究的结果

研究目的本研究探讨了一款名为 "oVRcome "的移动应用程序的疗效，该应用程序提供自我管理的虚拟现实暴露疗法，并结合认知行为技术来治疗社交焦虑症：随机对照试验（RCT）为期六周，治疗组为等待名单延迟治疗组，随访时间为12周和18周。参与者均为居住在新西兰、患有中度至重度社交焦虑症的成年人，以利博维茨社交焦虑量表（LSAS）进行测量。主要关注点是 LSAS 分数从基线到第六周的变化。所有分析均采用意向治疗数据：结果：在 126 名随机参与者中，81 人完成了为期六周的随访。第 6 周的保留率为 67.5%。与等待名单延迟治疗组相比，积极治疗组的 LSAS 分数下降幅度明显更大（积极治疗组平均 = -35.7 [SD = 24.0]；等待名单组：平均 = - 2.2 [SD = 13.5]；P 结论：该研究表明，oVR 能够改善患者的生活质量：研究表明，oVRcome可以有效减轻社交焦虑症状，提供了一种可行的自我指导治疗方案：试验登记：ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT05576259。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of psychiatric research 医学-精神病学

CiteScore

7.30

自引率

2.10%

发文量

622

审稿时长

130 days

期刊介绍： Founded in 1961 to report on the latest work in psychiatry and cognate disciplines, the Journal of Psychiatric Research is dedicated to innovative and timely studies of four important areas of research: (1) clinical studies of all disciplines relating to psychiatric illness, as well as normal human behaviour, including biochemical, physiological, genetic, environmental, social, psychological and epidemiological factors; (2) basic studies pertaining to psychiatry in such fields as neuropsychopharmacology, neuroendocrinology, electrophysiology, genetics, experimental psychology and epidemiology; (3) the growing application of clinical laboratory techniques in psychiatry, including imagery and spectroscopy of the brain, molecular biology and computer sciences;