Exploring the impact of gamified virtual reality cognitive training on improving anxiety and depressive symptoms in spanish adolescent girls

Abstract

Anxiety and depressive symptoms during adolescence have been linked to adverse outcomes in academic, social, and health domains. Interventions promoting emotion regulation (ER) serve as a preventive strategy for developing those symptoms. A key aspect to consider in the development and regulation of ER in adolescents is executive function (EF). Immersive virtual reality (IVR) has emerged as an innovative tool to enhance the effectiveness of EF training interventions. This study aims to assess the preliminary effect of IVR-gamified cognitive training on improving ER and reducing internalizing symptoms in young adolescent girls. Methodology: This is a longitudinal, parallel, single-blind, randomized pilot study with a sample of 45 Spanish-speaking adolescent girls. The sample was randomly allocated into an experimental group receiving a gamified IVR cognitive training program and a control group receiving a comparable IVR relaxation experience. Participants underwent a baseline and post-intervention assessment with the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression scale (RCADS) and the emotional control subscale from the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functions (BRIEF-2). Results: Two-way mixed ANOVAs were conducted, revealing no significant group*time interactions for internalizing symptoms, total anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and emotional control. Main effects of time were significant for internalizing symptoms and total anxiety symptoms. Pairwise comparison tests indicated statistically significant reductions in internalizing symptoms and total anxiety symptoms. These reductions were particularly noticeable in the experimental group. Conclusions: The results suggest that both interventions had a positive effect on participants’ internalizing symptoms, with the experimental group showing a more pronounced reduction.