Virtual reality tourism as a therapeutic tool: Assessing the well-being benefits of repeated restorative environment exposures for individuals with GAD

Abstract

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is prevalent worldwide. Virtual reality (VR) tourism is a promising public health intervention: studies have demonstrated benefits from short-term exposure to virtual restorative environments. Nevertheless, empirical evidence is needed to substantiate the cognitive advantages of VR tourism interventions for people with GAD. This study employed mixed methods to investigate the effects of repeated VR exposure to natural and urban environments in this group. Quantitative data, including psychological, physiological, and cognitive measures, were collected through pre- and post-test experiments. Qualitative data were obtained through participant interviews to capture subjective experiences. Findings confirmed that both VR natural and urban destinations can provide restorative experiences. However, negative emotion reduction and executive attention improvements corresponded to repeated exposure to nature rather than to urban destinations. These results indicate that VR nature-based tourism can be useful for the GAD population.