Sophie C Alsem, Anouk van Dijk, Esmée E Verhulp, Tycho J Dekkers, Bram O De Castro
Child development 2023 Nov-DecThis multicenter randomized controlled trial investigated whether interactive virtual reality enhanced effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to reduce children's aggressive behavior problems. Boys with aggressive behavior problems (N = 115; Mage = 10.58, SD = 1.48; 95.7% born in Netherlands) were randomized into three groups: CBT with virtual reality, CBT with roleplays, or care-as-usual. Bayesian analyses showed that CBT with virtual reality more likely reduced aggressive behavior compared to care-as-usual for six of seven outcomes (ds 0.19-0.95), and compared to CBT with roleplays for four outcomes (ds 0.14-0.68). Moreover, compared to roleplays, virtual reality more likely enhanced children's emotional engagement, practice immersion, and treatment appreciation. Thus, virtual reality may be a promising tool to enhance CBT effectiveness for children with aggressive behavior problems. © 2023 The Authors. Child Development published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for Research in Child Development.
Sophie C Alsem, Anouk van Dijk, Esmée E Verhulp, Tycho J Dekkers, Bram O De Castro. Treating children's aggressive behavior problems using cognitive behavior therapy with virtual reality: A multicenter randomized controlled trial. Child development. 2023 Nov-Dec;94(6):e344-e361
PMID: 37459452
View Full Text