The DOI matches its Crossref record; 21 of the 21 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Effectiveness of virtual reality exposure in the treatment of arachnophobia using 3D games
Abstract
Buying or creating a virtual reality (VR) software is very costly. A less expensive alternative could be to modify already existing 3D computer games. The goal of this study is to assess the effectiveness of in virtuo exposure in the treatment of arachnophobia using modified 3D games. Participants were 10 women and 1 man. Virtual worlds were created using the game editor of a 3D computer game (Half-Life), modified to offer graduals hierarchies of fearful stimuli (spiders). Analyses revealed significant improvement between pre and post results on the behavioral avoidance test, the Spider Beliefs Questionnaire, and perceived self-efficacy. These promising results suggest that therapy using virtual reality exposure via a modified computer game is useful in the treatment of arachnophobia.
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“other studies on the treatment of arachnophobia report above 80% female participants [18,36]”
From Virtual reality exposure therapy for fear of spiders: an open trial and feasibility study of a new treatment for arachnophobia (2024) · cites this paper as [36]
In the citing paper
“Similarly, data from the present study also coincide with findings from studies where VR was used to treat SP (animal subtype), such as those by [31, 33–35,75,76]; where VR was effective in reducing the fear and avoidance experienced by the participants.”
From In Vivo versus augmented reality exposure in the treatment of small animal phobia: A randomized controlled trial (2016) · cites this paper as [31]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Bouchard, S., Côté, S., St-Jacques, J., Robillard, G., & Renaud, P.
- Affiliations
- Université du Québec en Outaouais (CA)
- University of Ottawa (CA)
- Université du Québec à Montréal (CA)
- Venue
- Technology and Health Care
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2006-03-07
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 19-27
- ISSN
- 0928-7329 (ISSN-L)
- 1878-7401
- OpenAlex
- W201965795
- Cited by
- 156
- References
- 21
- Citations by year
- 2025: 6 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 7.12
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Technology and Health Care (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Keywords
- spider phobia, virtual reality exposure therapy, 3D computer games, game modification, fear hierarchy, avoidance behavior, self-efficacy, low-cost treatment
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Animals, Canada, Fear, Female, Humans, Male, Surveys and Questionnaires, Software, Spiders, User-Computer Interface, Treatment Outcome, Video Games, Imaging, Three-Dimensional
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