In Vivo Versus Augmented Reality Exposure for Small Animal Phobia

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Phobic Disorders
• Interventions: Behavioral: In Vivo Exposure for Animal Phobia following Öst´s guidelines; Behavioral: Augmented Reality Exposure for Animal Phobia following Öst´s guidelines

• Registration Number: NCT01361074
• Lead Sponsor: Universitat Jaume I

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 Description

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.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2011-01
• Study First Submitted: 2011-04-26
• Primary Completion: 2011-05
• Study First Submitted QC: 2011-05-25
• Study First Posted: 2011-05-26
• Study Completion: 2013-01
• Status Verified: 2013-09
• Last Update Submitted: 2015-12-03
• Last Update Posted: 2015-12-04

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 60

Inclusion Criteria

• Be between 18-65 years of age.
• To meet current DSM-IV-TR criteria for specific phobia (animal type)
• Have as the major presenting complaint anxiety in, and avoidance of, a large range of situations involving spiders or cockroaches.
• A minimum of 1 year duration of the phobia.
• To have scores over 4 in phobic avoidance (on a scale of 0 to 8).
• Express a willingness to participate in the study.

Exclusion Criteria

• To be able to put a hand inside the container with a spider or cockroach during the behavioral test.
• Have other psychiatric problem in immediate need of treatment.
• Have psychotic or organic symptoms.
• Have heart or lung disease.
• Current alcohol or drug dependence or medication.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
In Vivo Exposure	In Vivo Exposure for Animal Phobia following Öst´s guidelines	-
Augmented Reality Exposure	Augmented Reality Exposure for Animal Phobia following Öst´s guidelines	-

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in Behavioral Avoidance Test (BAT, Öst, Salkovskis, and Hellström's, 1991) at pre, post intervention and 3 and 12-month follow-up periods	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.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
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	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).

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University Jaume I; 🇪🇸 Castellón, Spain