Virtual Reality Experiences as Tools to Support Mental Health in Parents of Children With Autism

Summary

Mindfulness is a technique that involves the intentional and non-judgmental regulation of attention to the present moment, with curiosity, openness, and acceptance, as per its definition. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been used to manage mood disorders in various clinical and non-clinical settings, including neurological patients and cardiovascular diseases. Studies have consistently demonstrated that MBIs reduce depressive and anxiety symptoms, as well as rumination. MBIs are considered an alternative and effective treatment for reducing psychological stress in the management of different health conditions. Virtual reality (VR) has recently been proposed as an intermediate interface to help patients with emotional dysregulation learn mindfulness practices.

Within this context, new approaches to mental health integrating advanced technologies such as VR can play a critical role. In this interventional study we will seek to demonstrate the effectiveness of a virtual reality-mediated mindfulness-based intervention in a particular group of people who are constantly experiencing psychological distress due to caring for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

Conditions

• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Parents

Interventions

OTHER

Virtual Reality-mediated Mindfulness-Based Interventions

The Experimental will undergo 8 weekly sessions of immersive experience lasting 30 minutes. Each session is divided as follows: * First phase: Detection of physiological parameters with Oculus equipment switched off (10 minutes). * Second phase: Detection of physiological parameters with Oculus instrumentation turned ON during mindfulness experience (10 minutes * Third phase: Detection of physiological parameters with Oculus equipment switched off (10 minutes). This intervention will produce a multisensory experience merging visual and digital auditory stimuli. The audio recording also included some ambient natural sound effects, to make the practice more immersive.

OTHER

Virtual Reality-mediated Mindfulness-Based Interventions without audio guided experience

The Control will undergo 8 weekly sessions of immersive experience lasting 30 minutes. Each session is divided as follows: * First phase: Detection of physiological parameters with Oculus equipment switched off (10 minutes). * Second phase: Detection of physiological parameters with Oculus instrumentation turned ON during mindfulness experience (10 minutes * Third phase: Detection of physiological parameters with Oculus equipment switched off (10 minutes). This intervention will produce a monosensorial experience with video guided stimulation of naturalistic scenarios.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Istituto per la Ricerca e l'Innovazione Biomedica

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Antonio Cerasa · [email protected]

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-06-01

Primary Completion

2023-04-01

Completion

2023-04-15

Countries

• Italy

Study Locations