Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34740099›Full record

Trial reportBehaviour research and therapy2021

Pilot randomized trial of self-guided virtual reality exposure therapy for social anxiety disorder.

Nur Hani Zainal, William W Chan, Alisha P Saxena, Craig Barr Taylor, Michelle G Newman

Open access · greenAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Behaviour research and therapy, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
30citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
8.8field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

30 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 69 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. Pooled it
  8. Trial
  9. Trial
  10. Trial
  11. Trial
  12. Article
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Review
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Nur Hani ZainalThe Pennsylvania State University, USA. Electronic address: nvz5057@psu.edu.
William W ChanPalo Alto University, USA.
Alisha P SaxenaPalo Alto University, USA.
Craig Barr TaylorPalo Alto University, USA; Stanford University, USA.
Michelle G NewmanThe Pennsylvania State University, USA.
Palo Alto University · USPennsylvania State University · US

Funding

Harnessing Mobile Technology to Reduce Mental Health Disorders in College PopulationsR01MH115128 · NIMH · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI EISENBERG, DANIEL, NEWMAN, MICHELLE G · 2018 to 2022
$4.1M
NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH115128
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundVirtual reality exposure therapy (VRE) has shown promising efficacy for the treatment of social anxiety disorder (SAD) and related comorbidities. However, most trials conducted to date were therapist-led, and little is known about the efficacy of self-guided VRE. Therefore, this randomized controlled trial (RCT) aimed to determine the efficacy of a self-directed VRE for SAD.

methodForty-four community-dwelling or undergraduate adults diagnosed with SAD based on the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview were randomly assigned to VRE designed to last four sessions or more (n = 26) or waitlist (WL; n = 18). Self-reported SAD severity (Social Phobia Diagnostic Questionnaire and Social Interaction Anxiety Scale), job interview anxiety (Measure of Anxiety in Selection Interviews), trait worry (Penn State Worry Questionnaire), and depression symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9) were administered at baseline, post-treatment, 3-month-follow-up (3MFU), and 6-month-follow-up (6MFU). Piecewise multilevel modeling analyses were conducted to manage clustering in the data.

resultsVRE vs. WL resulted in greater reductions in SAD symptom severity, job interview fear, and trait worry, with moderate-to-large effect sizes (Hedge's g = -0.54 to -1.11) from pre-to-post treatment. Although significant between-group differences did not emerge for change in depression, VRE led to change in depression, whereas waitlist did not. These gains were also maintained at 3MFU and 6MFU. Further, facets of presence increased during the course of VRE (g = 0.36-0.45), whereas cybersickness decreased (g = -0.43). DISCUSSION: Brief, self-guided VRE might ameliorate SAD and comorbid worry, for young-to-middle-aged adults with SAD. Other theoretical and practical implications were also discussed.

Indexed as

Phobia, SocialVirtual Reality Exposure TherapyAdultAnxietyHumansMiddle AgedPilot ProjectsPsychiatric Status Rating ScalesTreatment OutcomeCybersicknessEmotional processing theoryexposure therapyInhibitory learningPresenceRandomized controlled trialSocial anxiety disorderVirtual reality

Identifiers

PMID34740099
PMCPMC8759454
OpenAlexW3201863710

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.