Virtual Reality Exposure for Public Speaking Anxiety

NCT06214039 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: VRanx_001
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 80
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study aims to examine the efficacy of exposure using virtual reality (VR) for public speaking anxiety in young adults in two treatment arms: a one-session VR exposure therapy with a 4-week online transition intervention versus a three-session VR exposure therapy with a 4-week online transition intervention. Previous studies have demonstrated that one-session therapy (OST) is comparable to prolonged exposure-based therapies in terms of effectively reducing public speaking anxiety. Moreover, VR offers many benefits compared to in-person exposure, namely the ability to produce anxiety-evoking stimuli without having to leave the therapist's room. However, OST VR exposure has not been directly compared to prolonged VR exposure and not for public speaking anxiety.

Conditions

Public Speaking Anxiety

Keywords

public speaking anxiety; virtual reality; social anxiety; psychological intervention; exposure

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Public Speaking Anxiety Scale (PSAS), (Bartholomay & Houlihan, 2016).

  Canonical total score will be used. Measure is self-rated, online. The scale consists of 17 self-report statements measured on a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 "not at all", to 5 "extremely". A higher score indicates higher levels of experienced public speaking anxiety.

  Pre-treatment, mid-treatment, immediately after the intervention, 3 and 12 months post-treatment

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale - Self-Report (LSAS-SR), (Liebowitz, 2003; Rytwinski et al., 2009)

  Pre-treatment, mid-treatment, immediately after the intervention, 3 and 12 months post-treatment

• Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (BFNE), (Leary, 1983)

  Pre-treatment, mid-treatment, immediately after the intervention, 3 and 12 months post-treatment

• Igroup Presence Questionnaire (IPQ)

  Pre-treatment, mid-treatment, immediately after the intervention, 3 and 12 months post-treatment

• Patient health questionnaire - 9 (PHQ-9), (Spitzer et al., 1999)

  Pre-treatment, mid-treatment, immediately after the intervention, 3 and 12 months post-treatment

Other Outcomes (1)

• Subjective Units of Distress (SUD)

  Pre-intervention, immediately after the intervention

Study Arms (2)

One session therapy

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

One session exposure therapy followed by 4 weeks of internet-delivered self-help with therapist support on demand

Behavioral: Exposure in virtual reality and text based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for public speaking anxiety

One session therapy - divided into 3

EXPERIMENTAL

Three session exposure therapy followed by 4 weeks of internet-delivered self-help with therapist support on demand

Behavioral: Exposure in virtual reality and text based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for public speaking anxiety

Interventions

Exposure in virtual reality and text based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for public speaking anxiety BEHAVIORAL

A 3-hour one session exposure therapy for public speaking anxiety

One session therapy; One session therapy - divided into 3

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 30 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• aged 18-30 and studying in higher education;
• experiencing a significant level of public speaking anxiety (60+ on PSAS);
• able to use a computer and have access to the internet for the duration of the study;
• able to understand, write and speak in Lithuanian;
• available to participate in one or three in-person intervention sessions and can devote the time to participate in a 4-week online program following the intervention sessions.

You may not qualify if:

• a history of seizures or a history of epilepsy;
• other significant medical conditions that would prevent them from participating in the program;
• high levels of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 rating of 15 and above and mentions of suicidal ideation) or other significant psychiatric conditions that would interfere with participation in the program;
• a tendency to have extreme seasickness reactions or a history of adverse physical reactions to virtual reality experiences or difficulty with or lack of stereoscopic vision;
• current involvement in other psychological interventions such as psychological counseling or psychotherapy;
• use of psychoactive drugs, unless stable for three months;
• current participation in other programs aimed at reducing public speaking anxiety.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Vilnius University: lead
• Linkoeping University: collaborator
• Stockholm University: collaborator
• Thomas More University of Applied Sciences: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Vilnius University

Vilnius, LT-01513, Lithuania

RECRUITING

Study Officials

• Jonas Eimontas, PhD

  Vilnius University

  STUDY CHAIR

Central Study Contacts

Jonas Eimontas, PhD

CONTACT

+37052667615; [email protected]

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 18, 2023
• First Posted: January 19, 2024
• Study Start: February 14, 2024
• Primary Completion: May 1, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2026
• Last Updated: May 24, 2024

Record last verified: 2023-11

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP
• Time Frame: Following the publication of the trial results.
• Access Criteria: Available to researchers affiliated with research institutions upon a reasonable request.

Locations

LI (1)