A visual discomfort questionnaire for use in research and applied settings

Abstract

Many people experience visual discomfort as a result of viewing visual stimuli such as stereoscopic content in novel display technologies. To prevent or mitigate its occurrence, we need to understand when and why visual discomfort occurs. However, our collective understanding of visual discomfort is hindered by the fact that existing definitions and measurement methods are applicable to specific visual stimuli in lieu of one way to define and measure visual discomfort across different technologies, contexts, and populations. The present work addresses this gap by the delineation of a clear definition of visual discomfort as well as the development of a questionnaire that is valid and usable across different types of visual stimuli. We followed a rigorous questionnaire development process, including a literature review, qualitative and quantitative content validity research, and two large scale quantitative studies to assess the psychometric properties of a novel questionnaire. Results demonstrate that the 27 item visual discomfort questionnaire (VDQ) has adequate psychometric quality, such as content and structural validity. The VDQ comprises four subcomponents (sickness, vision, eye discomfort, and head discomfort), and is intended for use in research and applied settings. Further validation in different samples and studies is recommended to establish its psychometric stability across populations and contexts.