Subjective experience of paranoid ideation in a virtual reality social environment: A mixed methods cross-sectional study.

This study aimed to use predominantly qualitative methods to investigate subjective experience of paranoia in VR and identify target domains for VR-CBT. Participants (N=36) were non-clinical adults with high trait paranoia who entered an interactive VR bar-room environment. Post-VR, they participated in brief audiotaped semi-structured interviews designed for measuring persecutory ideation in virtual environments. Researchers scored transcripts on the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States (CAARMS) Non-Bizarre Ideas Global Rating Scale to rate the state paranoia represented by interview content. Thematic analysis of interviews employed superordinate themes of Social Evaluative Concerns, Ideas of Reference, and Ideas of Persecution to investigate participants' experience of paranoia. Mean score on the Non-Bizarre Ideas scale was 3.06 (SD 1.24, range 1-6), indicating 'moderate' attenuated-paranoid experiences. Nearly all participants reported Social Evaluative Concerns (N=35) and Ideas of Reference (N=32); half reported Ideas of Persecution (N=19). Twelve subthemes were identified. Notably, participants believed they did not belong in the environment (N=31), that they were the object of discussion (N=20), and felt avatars were unfriendly (N=27) and intentionally rejected them (N=13). Subthemes reflect interpersonal and social processes that may constitute target areas for VR-CBT, e.g. cognitive appraisals and social skills. Identification of these domains indicates h...
Source: Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Clin Psychol Psychother Source Type: research