The long-term efficacy of virtual reality exposure therapy for acrophobia
10.3760/cma.j.cn371468-20240610-00270
- VernacularTitle:虚拟现实暴露对恐高症的长期疗效
- Author:
Sichu WU
1
;
Zehui ZHANG
;
Meilin GUO
;
Aoran XU
;
Jingya KONG
;
Guojia ZHANG
;
Chun WANG
Author Information
1. 南京医科大学附属脑科医院，南京 210029
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Acrophobia;
Virtual reality;
Exposure therapy;
Follow-up;
Curative effect
- From:
Chinese Journal of Behavioral Medicine and Brain Science
2024;33(12):1074-1079
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To explore the long-term efficacy of virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) for acrophobia.Method:Sixty patients with acrophobia who visited the Nanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University from October 2018 to January 2021 were selected and randomly divided into VRET group ( n=30) and imaginary exposure therapy (IET) group ( n=30) using a block random number table method. The VRET group received VRET treatment, while the IET group received IET treatment. Both groups received treatment twice a week for 3 weeks. At baseline and after treatment, the acrophobia questionnaire (AQ) and attitude towards high questionnaire (ATHQ) were used to assess the patients' acrophobia symptoms, and the behavioral avoidance test (BAT) was used to assess the patients' level of avoidance when facing high altitude situations. During the 2-year follow-up after treatment, AQ and ATHQ were used to evaluate the patients' acrophobia symptoms. The repeated measures ANOVA and covariance analysis were used to analyze the data using SPSS 27.0 software. Result:(1) Repeated measures ANOVA showed that there was no significant interaction effect of AQ-anxiety, AQ-avoidance, and ATHQ scores between the two groups before and after treatment ( F=1.37, 1.95, 0.21, all P>0.05), while the time main effect of AQ-anxiety ( F=43.29) and ATHQ score ( F=13.35) was significant (both P<0.05), and the time main effect and group main effect of AQ-avoidance score were significant ( Ftime=62.84, Fgroup=5.65, both P<0.05). The AQ-avoidance scores of the VRET group(6.19±3.60, 8.25±3.80) were significantly lower than those of the IET group (9.60±3.74, 12.00±4.57)after treatment and during the follow-up period (both P<0.05).(2)After controlling for the baseline initial values of BAT in the two groups, the VRET group had a lower corrected BAT score (1.51 ± 0.72) than the IET group (4.39 ± 0.75) ( F=55.81, P<0.001), indicating that the efficacy of the VRET group was significantly better than that of the IET group. Conclusion:VRET significantly reduces acrophobia symptoms and behavioral avoidance level in patients with acrophobia, demonstrating superior efficacy compared to IET in both immediate and long-term effects.
