Positive Youth Development in the Metaverse

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Healthy Lifestyle; Healthy; Childhood ALL; Behavior, Child
• Interventions: Behavioral: Virtual reality curriculum; Behavioral: No Virtual reality curriculum

• Registration Number: NCT05858593
• Lead Sponsor: University of Georgia

Brief Summary

This pilot study aims to leverage VR's capacity to easily replicate content and allow for multiple users to share the same space and engage in activities as if they're meeting in person. Integrating VR into afterschool programs will allow youth to receive more consistent programming content, even when they are unable to travel to the physical location for the in-person meetings.

Detailed Description

This pilot study aims to leverage VR's capacity to easily replicate content and allow for multiple users to share the same space and engage in activities as if they're meeting in person. Integrating VR into afterschool programs will allow youth to receive more consistent programming content, even when they are unable to travel to the physical location for the in-person meetings. It will also empower youth to engage with the afterschool program at their own pace by providing a safe space to learn and practice their socioemotional skills. Implemented at scale, these benefits of a VR-integrated afterschool program will be able to address the issues of health inequity head on by expanding access to high quality afterschool content without incurring high operating costs. The results from this pilot study will provide a critical foundation to apply for an extramurally funded clinical trial to demonstrate the efficacy of a VR-integrated afterschool program on youth mental wellbeing.

Aim 1: Determine feasibility of a VR-integrated afterschool program where youth can access the VR content on their own at home.

Aim 2: Test the hypothesis that complementing the in-person afterschool program with VR will increase a) engagement and b) socioemotional competencies in youth.

Aim 3: Test the hypothesis that youth will demonstrate better mental wellbeing when the in-person afterschool program is complemented with VR.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2023-04-19
• Study First Submitted QC: 2023-05-04
• Study First Posted: 2023-05-15
• Study Start: 2023-10-15
• Primary Completion: 2024-07-30
• Study Completion: 2024-07-30
• Status Verified: 2024-12
• Last Update Submitted: 2024-12-20
• Last Update Posted: 2024-12-27

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 31

Inclusion Criteria

• Children enrolled in the Chess & Community program
• Between the ages of 9-17
• The parent/primary caregiver of these children

Exclusion Criteria

• Children who are unable to wear a VR headset will not be recruited

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Treatment	Virtual reality curriculum	In the treatment group, the child will receive the VR-based curriculum in addition to receiving the devices to use for 8 weeks.
Control	No Virtual reality curriculum	In the control group, the child will still receive the devices to use for 8 weeks, but will not have the VR-based curriculum.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Mental well-being	One-time assessment post-treatment (at 8 weeks)	Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Not true = 0, Somewhat true = 1, Certainly true = 2)
Self-regulation	One-time assessment post-treatment (at 8 weeks)	Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire-Revised ( 1-Almost always untrue, 2-Usually untrue, 3-Sometimes true, sometimes untrue, 4-Usually true, 5-Almost always true)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Engagement	8 weeks	Number of hours of programming delivered for both in-person and VR

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Athens Chess & Community; 🇺🇸 Athens, Georgia, United States