@article{ref1,
title="Moving beyond role-play: evaluating the use of virtual reality to teach emotion regulation for the prevention of adolescent risk behavior within a randomized pilot trial",
journal="Journal of pediatric psychology",
year="2019",
author="Hadley, Wendy and Houck, Christopher and Brown, Larry K. and Spitalnick, Josh S. and Ferrer, Mirtha and Barker, David",
volume="44",
number="4",
pages="425-435",
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). <br><br>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. <br><br>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. <br><br>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.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0146-8693",
doi="10.1093/jpepsy/jsy092",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsy092"
}