Clinical Trial: In Vivo Versus Augmented Reality Exposure for Small Animal Phobia

Study Status: Completed
Recruit Status: Completed
Study Type: Interventional

Official Title: In Vivo Versus Augmented Reality Exposure for Small Animal Phobia Treatment: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Brief Summary:

The aim of this study is to explore the differential efficacy of in vivo exposure versus augmented reality exposure in the treatment of specific phobia (small animals).

The hypothesis is: There will not be significant statistical differences in the efficacy of in vivo exposure therapy versus augmented reality exposure in the treatment of specific phobia (small animals).


Detailed Summary:

Among anxiety disorders, specific phobias are highly prevalent (around 7.2% and 11.3% in the general population). Cockroach or spider phobia is a type of specific phobia, animal type. The gold standard for the treatment of specific phobia (included small animal phobia) is in vivo exposure. Most phobia sufferers (60-80%) never seek treatment. Besides, not all patients benefit from in vivo exposure, given that an important amount of them do not accept the intervention or drop out (around 25%) when they are informed about the intervention procedure.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) like Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are pioneer applications that can improve treatment adherence and acceptance. There exist some studies offering preliminary evidence of the efficacy of AR for the treatment of small animal phobia. However, there are not any controlled study exploring the differential efficacy of ICT-based exposure interventions versus in vivo exposure. In the present study the differential efficacy of AR exposure versus in vivo exposure for the treatment of small animal phobia is explored with a between subject randomized controlled trial. A pre-treatment assessment will be conducted in order to establish the diagnosis and evaluate the main outcome measures. All participants will receive an intensive exposure session following Öst guidelines, (in vivo exposure in one experimental condition and AR exposure in the other experimental condition). After the treatment a post-treatment assessment will be carried out as well as follow-up assessments at 3- and 12-month after treatment completion.


Sponsor: Universitat Jaume I

Current Primary Outcome: Change in Behavioral Avoidance Test (BAT, Öst, Salkovskis, and Hellström's, 1991) at pre, post intervention and 3 and 12-month follow-up periods [ Time Frame: At pre (baseline), post intervention and 3 and 12-month follow-up periods ]

The BAT assesses the severity of the subjective fear, avoidance, and belief in the catastrophic thoughts of the participants on a scale of 0 to 10 before they entered in a room with a feared insect. A container with a live cockroach or spider in it was placed 5 meters from the entrance. Participants were asked to enter the room and approach the insect as closely as possible. They were told that they could terminate the behavioral test at any point. Their performances in the test were scored, taking into account their final proximity to the insect and was converted to a behavioral score.


Original Primary Outcome: Change in Behavioral Avoidance Test (BAT, Öst, Salkovskis, and Hellström's, 1991) at pre, post intervention and 1, 3, 6, and 12-month follow-up periods [ Time Frame: At pre (baseline), post intervention and 1, 3, 6, and 12-month follow-up periods ]

The BAT assesses the severity of the subjective fear, avoidance, and belief in the catastrophic thoughts of the participants on a scale of 0 to 10 before they entered in a room with a feared insect. A container with a live cockroach or spider in it was placed 5 meters from the entrance. Participants were asked to enter the room and approach the insect as closely as possible. They were told that they could terminate the behavioral test at any point. Their performances in the test were scored, taking into account their final proximity to the insect and was converted to a behavioral score.


Current Secondary Outcome: Change in Spider Phobia Beliefs Questionnaire (SPBQ; adapted from Arntz, Lavy, Van der Berg, & Van Rijsoort, 1993) at pre, post intervention and 3 and 12-month follow-up periods [ Time Frame: At pre (baseline), post intervention and 3 and 12-month follow-up periods ]

This is a self-report scale with two subscales: items 1-42 assess the strength of fearful beliefs about spiders; items 43-78 measure the strength of fearful beliefs about one's reaction to encountering spiders. Items are rated from 0 to 100. Good internal consistency for both subscales (α=.94) and acceptable test-retest reliability (r=.68 for the spider-related and r=.71 for the self-related one) have been reported. An adaptation of this questionnaire was made by our research team in order to assess fearful beliefs about cockroaches and has been used in other studies (Botella et al., 2008).


Original Secondary Outcome: Change in Spider Phobia Beliefs Questionnaire (SPBQ; adapted from Arntz, Lavy, Van der Berg, & Van Rijsoort, 1993) at pre, post intervention and 1, 3, 6, and 12-month follow-up periods [ Time Frame: At pre (baseline), post intervention and 1, 3, 6, and 12-month follow-up periods ]

This is a self-report scale with two subscales: items 1-42 assess the strength of fearful beliefs about spiders; items 43-78 measure the strength of fearful beliefs about one's reaction to encountering spiders. Items are rated from 0 to 100. Good internal consistency for both subscales (α=.94) and acceptable test-retest reliability (r=.68 for the spider-related and r=.71 for the self-related one) have been reported. An adaptation of this questionnaire was made by our research team in order to assess fearful beliefs about cockroaches and has been used in other studies (Botella et al., 2008).


Information By: Universitat Jaume I

Dates:
Date Received: April 26, 2011
Date Started: January 2011
Date Completion:
Last Updated: December 3, 2015
Last Verified: September 2013