Using Immersive Virtual Reality to Treat Pediatric Anxiety

Johns Hopkins University3 enrolled

Overview

Anxiety is a common and impairing problem for children. The principle treatment for pediatric anxiety involves facing a child's fears in a stepwise approach through a therapeutic exercise called exposures. While exposures are effective, some feared situations cannot be confronted in a clinician's office (e.g., heights, public speaking, storms). This poses a logistical challenge in treatment that: (1) takes time away from patient care, (2) leads clinicians to rely on imagined exposures, and/or (3) requires families to complete exposures outside of the therapy visits. This creates a burden for clinicians and families, and impedes treatment success. Immersive virtual reality (VR) presents an innovative solution that allows children to face fears without leaving the clinician's office. While VR has been used to distract children during painful medical procedures, it has not been well examined as a primary treatment for pediatric anxiety. This study proposes to examine the effectiveness and acceptability of using immersive VR exposures to treat children and adolescents with specific phobias.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Specific Phobia Specific Phobia, Situational

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 8 YearsMax age: 17 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * 8-17 years (inclusive), * meet diagnostic criteria for one or more phobias on a structured diagnostic interview (ADIS-C/P). This specifically includes natural environments (e.g., storms, heights) and/or situational settings (e.g., airplanes, public speaking). * be fluent in English. Exclusion Criteria: * unable to complete rating scales, or * attend study visits.

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Clinical Severity Rating (CSR) of Targeted Specific Phobia on Anxiety Disorder Interview Schedule for Children and Parents (ADIS-C/P)

The ADIS-C/P CSR for the Specific Phobia is a single item rating that is made by a clinician. Scores are made on a 9-point scale that ranges from 0 (Not at all) to 8 (Very, very much). A score of 4 or greater considered to be indicative of a psychiatric disorder.

Time frame: 1 week after virtual reality exposure therapy session

Secondary Outcomes

Screen for Childhood Anxiety and Related Disorders-Parent Report (SCARED-P)

Parent-reported rating of child anxiety that consists of 41-items. Items are rated on a 3-point scale that ranges from 0 (Not True) to 2 (Very True). The total score ranges from 0 to 82, with a total score of 25 or greater may indicate the presence of an anxiety disorder.