The STRIVE-ONR Project: Stress Resistance in Virtual Environments

Abstract

The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any o:her aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing the burden, to Department of Defense, Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports (0704-0188), 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any o:her provision of law, no person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number PLEASE DO NOT RETURN YOUR FORM TO THE ABOVE ADDRESS. REPORT DATE ^DD-MM-WYVj 07/29/2015 REPORTTYPE FINAL TECHNICAL REPORT TITLE AND SUBTITLEThe STRIVE-ONR Project: Stress Resistance in Virtual Environments AUTHOR(S)Buckwalter, J. Galen PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES)University of Southern California 3720 S. Flower Street Los Angeles, CA 90007-0701 SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES)Office SPONSOR/MONITOR'S ACRONYM(S) ONR SPONSOR/MONITOR'S REPORT NUMBER(S) SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES ABSTRACT ~STRIVE is a story-driven approach to using virtual reality (VR) for understanding and training psychological resilience in service members prior to a combat deployment. This effort is based on two scientific principles: 1) pre-exposure to traumatic events within a safe environment provides some degree of protection for those later exposed to subsequent trauma and 2) resilience, or the rate and effectiveness with which someone returns to normal after stress, can be strengthened through systematic training. This project created the fifth episode (of six) of STRIVE and also resulted in four papers. Interaction by SMs within such emotionally challenging scenarios aims to provide a more meaningful context in which to learn and practice psychoeducational and cognitive coping strategies that research suggests plays a supportive role in the psychological preparation for a combat deployment. To accomplish this, STRIVE has been designed as a multi-episode interactive narrative in VR, akin to being immersed within a "Band of Brothers" type storyline that spans a typical deployment cycle. We currently have an initial story arc of six episodes created that will be used in the research that is now being proposed. At the end of each of the graded 10-minute episodes, an emotionally challenging event occurs, designed in part from feedback provided by SMs undergoing PTSD VRET (e.g., seeing/handling human remains, direct threat to safety via an IED attack in a vehicle, moral challenges due to culturally relativistic events (wife beating), the death of a civilian child, death of a squad member, grief processing in theatre). At that point in the episode, the virtual worl...

Therapeutic virtual reality in prison: Participatory design with incarcerated women

“…Virtual environments can be entirely customized, allowing providers to work with patients with difficulty imagining feared memories (Riva, 2005; Rizzo et al, 2012a); VR HMDs are increasingly portable and can be used in private offices (Birckhead et al, 2019; Riva, 2005; Rothbaum and Hodges, 1999); and providers can have unparalleled control over their patient’s sensory intensity and details that would be otherwise impossible for imaginal or in situ treatments (Finseth et al, 2018; Maples-Keller et al, 2017; Rizzo et al, 2012b: 231). Biometric data sensors paired with VR setups also allow providers to collect and measure patients’ real-time psychophysiological responses to stress, such as heart rate and perspiration (Buckwalter, 2015; Rizzo et al, 2012b). Today VR exposure as a therapeutic assessment and treatment modality has expanded to a wide range of medical, surgical, psychiatric, and neurocognitive conditions (Birckhead et al, 2019), including pain control, phobias and anxiety disorders (Botella et al, 2015; Valmaggia et al, 2016), and addiction (Girard et al, 2009).…”