Reducing Social Avoidance Among Adolescents With Special Educational Needs

Launched by THE HONG KONG POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY · Jun 5, 2024

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is looking at a new way to help teenagers with special educational needs who struggle with social situations. It focuses on using Virtual Reality (VR) to help these young people face and overcome their fears of social interactions. Participants will engage in VR activities that gradually become more challenging, which will teach them that they can handle situations they usually avoid. The researchers believe that those who take part in this VR program will show a noticeable decrease in their social avoidance behaviors after the treatment, and that this improvement will last even a month later.

To be eligible for this trial, participants need to be between 16 and 19 years old, able to read traditional Chinese, and understand Cantonese. They should also be experiencing social avoidance symptoms. However, individuals with certain conditions, like photosensitive epilepsy or balance problems, cannot participate. The trial is not yet recruiting participants, but it's a great opportunity for eligible teens to potentially gain confidence in social settings through this innovative VR approach.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Age 16-19
• • Can read traditional Chinese and understand Cantonese
• • Self-report on experiencing social avoidance symptoms
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • History of photosensitive epilepsy
• • Impairment of stereoscopic vision
• • Balance problems