NCT02990208

Diaphragmatic Breathing During Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Aviophobia

Diaphragmatic Breathing During Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Aviophobia: Functional Coping Strategy or Avoidance Behavior? A Pilot Study

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 30 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Regensburg · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 20 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The study investigated the effect of diaphragmatic breathing as an additional coping strategy during Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy in patients with aviophobia. The authors assumed that diaphragmatic breathing (DB) would lead to less fear and physiological arousal during the VRET and to an enhanced treatment outcome

Detailed description

Patients with aviophobia received treatment in Virtual Reality with or without DB. The authors assumed that adding DB to VRET would enhance treatment effects by reducing fear during exposure, thus improving the processing of the feared situation. The authors hypothesized that, as a result, self-efficacy would be increased in comparison to VRET alone.

Conditions

• Fear of Flying

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Diaphragmatic breathing	Patients trained in the technique of diaphragmatic breathing were instructed to take a breath by contracting the diaphragm and were trained to maintain their respiration frequency. They were told to inhale through the nose for four seconds and exhale through the mouth for six seconds (six cycles per minute). Patients then had five minutes to practice by following verbal breathing instructions provided over headphones. During VR exposure breathing instructions were provided via headphones. Diaphragmatic is thought to reduce arousal on the physiological level (Hazlett-Stevens \& Craske, 2009) but at the same time not to divert attention from the feared situation to the same extent as other coping strategies
BEHAVIORAL	Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy	Exposure to fear-evoking stimuli is conducted more often in virtual environments using simulators or similar computer-technologies (Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy, VRET). One great advantage of using VR-technologies is that it is possible to create an environment which is highly controllable by its creators. Feared stimuli or scenarios can be varied on individual purposes and presented several times. This facilitates the practice of exposure-based treatments especially for situations or places difficult to access or requiring a considerable amount of time and/or money (e.g. being in war zones or a passenger on a flight), where in vivo exposures have often not been conducted or only in a limited manner (Mühlberger \& Pauli, 2011)

Timeline

• Start date: 2014-01-01
• Primary completion: 2015-10-01
• Completion: 2015-10-01
• First posted: 2016-12-13
• Last updated: 2016-12-13