The Effectiveness of Virtual Reality-Based Mindfulness Training on Anxiety and Psychological Distress in Adolescents

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: Adolescents due to physical and psychological changes resulting from puberty may experience increased anxiety and psychological distress. Therefore, the present research was conducted with the aim of determine the effectiveness of virtual reality-based mindfulness training on anxiety and psychological distress in adolescent.

Methodology: This study was a quasi-experimental with a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The statistical population of the present study was all female adolescent students of the second high school of Mashhad city in the 2024-5 academic years, which according to the inclusion criteria number of 30 female adolescents were selected using purposive sampling method and were replaced into two equal groups using a simple random sampling method with the help of a lottery. The experimental group 8 sessions of 70 minute underwent the virtual reality-based mindfulness training, and during this period the control group did not receive any training. The data of this study were collected with the Anxiety Inventory (Beck et al., 1988) and Psychological Distress Scale (Kessler et al., 2002) and analyzed with the multivariate analysis of covariance method in SPSS version 29 software.

Findings: The results of the present study showed that there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the variables of anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents. In the other words, virtual reality-based mindfulness training reduced anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents (P<0.001).

Conclusion: According to the aforementioned results, counselors and therapists can benefit from virtual reality-based mindfulness training along with other appropriate and effective training methods to reduce anxiety and psychological distress.