ArticleFrontiers in psychology2026
A pilot study: virtual reality-based intervention to boost optimism and alleviate stress, anxiety, and depression in undergraduates.
Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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10 authors.
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Abstract
Objective: This pilot randomized controlled trial evaluated the short- and long-term effectiveness of a Positive Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (PCBT)-based virtual reality (VR) intervention in enhancing optimism and improving mental health outcomes among undergraduate students with low baseline optimism, compared with a task-based VR control. Methods: Twenty-eight full-time undergraduate students with low optimism [Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R) ≤ 13] were randomly assigned to a PCBT-based VR intervention ( Results: All participants completed post-intervention assessments, and 25 (89.29%) completed the 6-month follow-up. The PCBT-based VR group demonstrated a significant short-term increase in optimism ( Conclusion: A PCBT-based VR intervention produced meaningful short-term improvements in optimism and depressive symptoms among undergraduates with low optimism, with optimism gains sustained for 6 months. These findings suggest that VR-delivered positive psychology interventions may be a feasible and engaging approach to support student mental health. Larger, multi-site trials are needed to confirm efficacy and optimize long-term effects.
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