The Geeky Mind

Today’s teens face immense stress from social media, climate change, political divides, the pandemic, and online learning. Their mental health has been declining over the past decade, with anxiety and depression increasing significantly after the onset of COVID-19. To make matters worse, there is a severe shortage of mental health providers, with only 14 child and adolescent psychiatrists for every 100,000 children in the U.S.

To address this crisis, researchers at the University of Washington explored whether virtual reality (VR) could help reduce stress and improve mental health in teens. They created a VR environment called RESeT (Relaxation Environment for Stress in Teens), a snowy virtual world featuring six activities designed to enhance mental well-being. These activities include stacking rocks and painting, all based on proven mental health practices.

In a three-week study involving 44 teens in Seattle, the researchers found that participants used the VR technology an average of twice a week without reminders. They reported feeling less stressed and having a better mood while using it, though their overall anxiety and depression levels did not change.

The study, published in the journal JMIR XR and Spatial Computing on April 22, highlights the potential of VR as a tool for mental health. “We know what works to help support teens, but these techniques are often inaccessible due to cost or lack of available counselors,” explained lead author Elin Björling, a senior research scientist at UW. “By integrating these practices into an engaging VR environment, we hoped teens would be more likely to use them on their own.”

The idea for RESeT came from discussions with teens at Seattle Public Library sites over two years. The result was a winter-themed virtual world with a forest to explore and various mental health-boosting activities. For example, in the “Riverboat” exercise, users place negative words on paper boats and send them down a river. In “Rabbit Hole,” users stand still to attract rabbits, rewarding calmness and attention.

During the study, each teen received a Meta Quest 2 headset and was asked to use RESeT three to five times a week. The teens reported using it twice a week for about 11.5 minutes per session, feeling significantly less stressed and slightly improved in mood. Although the study did not show significant impacts on anxiety and depression, the teens enjoyed using the VR headset.

“Reduced stress and improved mood are exactly what we hoped for,” said co-author Jennifer Sonney, an associate professor at the UW School of Nursing. “We saw promising signals that teens liked using RESeT and could manage it themselves, so we definitely want to continue this research.”

The researchers plan to conduct a larger, long-term study with a control group to see if VR can have lasting effects on mood and stress. They are also exploring the use of artificial intelligence to personalize the VR experience and considering providing VR headsets in schools or libraries to increase accessibility.

This research was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health through the UW ALACRITY Center and involved contributions from UW and industry experts. The study highlights an innovative approach to supporting teen mental health through accessible and engaging technology.