Virtual Reality Applications for Children and Adolescents in Mental Health: A Scoping Review of Assessment and Intervention in Clinical Practice

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background The purpose of this scoping review was to synthesize literature on virtual reality (VR) applications used in assessment and treatment in youth mental health care. We studied the validity of assessment tools, the effectiveness of (preventive) interventions and their feasibility. Method The search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and PsycInfo. Studies were included if VR was used in a population of minors to assess prevent or treat mental health–related symptoms in clinical populations or at‐risk groups. Results A total of 43 studies were included. Thirteen studies investigated the validity of VR assessment tools whereby the majority focused on the assessment of attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms. These studies found that VR shows a performance advantage over traditional assessment tools by increasing sensitivity and specificity. Effectiveness was studied in 30 studies including youth with autism spectrum disorder, anxiety, attention difficulty and behaviour problems. The working mechanisms of these VR interventions encompassed skills practice, exposure and relaxation. VR interventions show promising results for all working mechanisms, with most evidence for social skills and communication training for children with autism spectrum disorder. Importantly, none of these applications have been tested more than once. Nearly half of all included studies lacked feasibility measures, while the rest showed inconsistencies in their feasibility assessment. Conclusions VR applications for youth in mental health show promise. More standardized testing and replication studies with transparent VR feasibility assessments are needed to determine their effectiveness and utility in clinical practice. Trial Registration: The protocol was preregistered at OSF (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/YZV37)