Abstract
BackgroundPublic Speaking Anxiety (PSA) is a common anxiety with onset in adolescence and early adulthood. With the advent of consumer virtual reality (VR) technology, VR-delivered exposure therapy is now a scalable and practical treatment option and has previously been shown to be efficacious with adults. In this non-randomized feasibility and pilot trial, we explore the effect of one-session (90 min) VR-delivered exposure therapy for adolescents (aged 13–16) with PSA.MethodsA total of 27 adolescents were recruited from Norwegian high schools and completed self-report measures of PSA twice prior to treatment, 1 week after treatment, and at 1 and 3 month follow-up. Heart rate was recorded during the treatment session. A low-cost head-mounted VR display with a custom-built VR stimuli material depicting a cultural and age appropriate classroom and audience were used when a series of speech (exposure exercises) were performed.ResultsLinear mixed effects model revealed a significant decrease in PSA symptoms (Cohen’s d = 1.53) pre-post treatment, and improvements were maintained at follow-ups. Physiological data revealed a small increase in heart rate during exposure tasks. Based on feedback from the adolescents, the feasibility of the intervention was increased during the trial.ConclusionsThe results show that low-cost, consumer VR hardware can be used to deliver efficacious treatment for PSA in adolescents, in a feasible one-session format.
Highlights
Public Speaking Anxiety (PSA) is a common anxiety with onset in adolescence and early adulthood
Studies have shown that treating the specific subtype of PSA reduce the overall level of generalized social anxiety [12,13,14] and by providing a treatment intervention targeting adolescents, one might be able to reduce the societal and personal costs of the disease
Non-randomized feasibility and pilot study, we investigate the feasibility of adapting the 3-h single session VR Exposure Therapy (VRET) protocol for PSA examined in Lindner et al [26] into a 90-min single session for use with adolescents, and examine whether the effect size is similar, explore possible moderators of treatment effects, and physiological response to the virtual reality (VR) scenarios
Summary
Public Speaking Anxiety (PSA) is a common anxiety with onset in adolescence and early adulthood. With the advent of consumer virtual reality (VR) technology, VR-delivered exposure therapy is a scalable and practical treatment option and has previously been shown to be efficacious with adults. In this non-randomized feasibility and pilot trial, we explore the effect of one-session (90 min) VR-delivered exposure therapy for adolescents (aged 13–16) with PSA. The literature describes two subgroups of adult SAD: those with both interaction and performance anxiety (generalized SAD) and those with only performance anxiety [3], with PSA as the most common symptom in both adolescents [8] and adults [9]. Studies have shown that treating the specific subtype of PSA reduce the overall level of generalized social anxiety [12,13,14] and by providing a treatment intervention targeting adolescents, one might be able to reduce the societal and personal costs of the disease
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