The Applicability of Virtual Reality-Based Training for Controlling Anger in Aggressive Individuals

The Effects of Virtual Reality in Targeting Transdiagnostic Factors for Mental Health: A Systematic Review of the Literature

“…The number of studies taken into consideration for each transdiagnostic factor varied. Avoidance was the most studied transdiagnostic factor found in 23 articles (63.89%) ( n = 19 experimental studies and n = 4 case studies) [ 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 ], followed by emotion regulation, which was found in eight articles (22.22%; n = 7 experimental studies and n = 1 case study) [ 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 ]; aggression, which was found in three experimental studies (8.33%) [ 70 , 71 , 72 ]; impulsivity, which was found in two studies (5.56%; n =1 experimental study and n = 1 case study) [ 71 , 73 ]; and cognitive reappraisal, which was found in two studies (5.56%; n = 1 experimental study and n = 1 case study) [ 63 , 74 ]. No studies were found for the transdiagnostic factor of disinhibition.…”

“…Among the 36 articles that were selected for the review, different sample sizes were used. Sixteen experimental studies (44.44%) had less than 50 participants [ 40 , 44 , 45 , 47 , 48 , 50 , 51 , 54 , 58 , 60 , 62 , 63 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 72 ], nine (25%) included between 50 and 100 participants [ 39 , 46 , 49 , 53 , 55 , 59 , 64 , 69 , 70 ], and only a few ( n = 4, 11.11%) had a sample size larger than 100 participants [ 43 , 52 , 56 , 71 ]. Finally, seven (19.44%) articles were multiple or single case studies including between one and eight participants [ 41 , 42 , 57 , 61 , 65 , 73 , 74 ].…”

“…In terms of research design, only 23 out of 36 studies (63.89%) were controlled studies, of which 19 were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (82.61%) [ 39 , 43 , 45 , 46 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 59 , 60 , 63 , 64 , 66 , 68 , 71 ] and four (17.39%) were non-randomized controlled studies [ 47 , 67 , 69 , 70 ]. Six studies out of 36 (16.67%) were uncontrolled clinical trials [ 40 , 44 , 52 , 58 , 62 , 72 ], and seven (19.44%) were case studies [ 41 , 42 , 57 , 61 , 65 , 73 , 74 ].…”

“…Regarding sociodemographic characteristics of the samples in the reviewed studies, the age range went from young children to adults (around 8 to 51 years of age). However, the great majority of the studies were carried out on adult samples between ~19 and 51 years of age ( n = 31, 86.11%), with only two studies (5.56%) carried out on children between ~8 and 10 years of age [ 42 , 69 ], and three (8.33%) on adolescents between ~12 and 15 [ 64 , 68 , 74 ] Moreover, mixed gender was predominant in the studies ( n = 23; 36.11%), with some exceptions: four studies (11.11%) had an all-male sample [ 41 , 70 , 72 , 74 ], and four (11.11%) had an all-female sample [ 57 , 61 , 65 , 73 ]. Moreover, five studies (13.89%) did not clearly state the participants’ gender [ 44 , 49 , 53 , 60 , 71 ].…”

“…Lastly, regarding the kind of VR technology that was used among all 36 studies, 28 (77.78%) used immersive VR [ 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 70 , 71 ], 3 (8.33%) Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE) [ 53 , 69 , 73 ], and only five (13.89%) used non-immersive VR technology [ 47 , 57 , 63 , 72 , 74 ]. See Table S1 for characteristics of the studies and the specific contents, data and results of the selected papers.…”