Virtual reality aggression prevention therapy (VRAPT) versus waiting list control for forensic psychiatric inpatients : A multicenter randomized controlled trial
(2020) In Journal of Clinical Medicine 9(7).- Abstract
Many forensic psychiatric inpatients have difficulties regulating aggressive behavior. Evidence of effective aggression treatments is limited. We designed and investigated the effectiveness of a transdiagnostic application of a virtual reality aggression prevention training (VRAPT). In this randomized controlled trial at four Dutch forensic psychiatric centers, 128 inpatients with aggressive behavior were randomly assigned to VRAPT (N = 64) or waiting list control group (N = 64). VRAPT consisted of 16 one-hour individual treatment sessions twice a week. Assessments were done at baseline, post-treatment and at 3-month follow-up. Primary outcome measures were aggressive behavior observed by staff and self-reported aggressive behavior.... (More)
Many forensic psychiatric inpatients have difficulties regulating aggressive behavior. Evidence of effective aggression treatments is limited. We designed and investigated the effectiveness of a transdiagnostic application of a virtual reality aggression prevention training (VRAPT). In this randomized controlled trial at four Dutch forensic psychiatric centers, 128 inpatients with aggressive behavior were randomly assigned to VRAPT (N = 64) or waiting list control group (N = 64). VRAPT consisted of 16 one-hour individual treatment sessions twice a week. Assessments were done at baseline, post-treatment and at 3-month follow-up. Primary outcome measures were aggressive behavior observed by staff and self-reported aggressive behavior. Analysis was by intention to treat. This trial was registered in the Dutch Trial Register (NTR, TC = 6340). Participants were included between March 1, 2017, and December 31, 2018. Compared to waiting list, VRAPT did not significantly decrease in self-reported or observed aggressive behavior (primary outcomes). Hostility, anger control, and non-planning impulsiveness improved significantly in the VRAPT group compared to the control group at post-treatment. Improvements were not maintained at 3-month follow-up. Results suggest that VRAPT does not decrease aggressive behavior in forensic inpatients. However, there are indications that VRAPT temporarily influences anger control skills, impulsivity and hostility.
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- author
- Tuente, Stéphanie Klein LU ; Bogaerts, Stefan ; Bulten, Erik ; Keulen-De Vos, Marije ; Vos, Maarten ; Bokern, Hein ; Ijzendoorn, Sarah van ; Geraets, Chris N.W. LU and Veling, Wim
- publishing date
- 2020-07
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Aggressive behavior, Forensic psychiatry, Randomized controlled trial, Severe psychopathology, Social information processing model, Virtual reality
- in
- Journal of Clinical Medicine
- volume
- 9
- issue
- 7
- article number
- 2258
- publisher
- MDPI AG
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85102258917
- ISSN
- 2077-0383
- DOI
- 10.3390/jcm9072258
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. T.
- id
- 10b22433-67d0-47fd-8355-ac3b55f610d6
- date added to LUP
- 2024-10-21 10:40:11
- date last changed
- 2025-10-14 11:42:45
@article{10b22433-67d0-47fd-8355-ac3b55f610d6,
abstract = {{<p>Many forensic psychiatric inpatients have difficulties regulating aggressive behavior. Evidence of effective aggression treatments is limited. We designed and investigated the effectiveness of a transdiagnostic application of a virtual reality aggression prevention training (VRAPT). In this randomized controlled trial at four Dutch forensic psychiatric centers, 128 inpatients with aggressive behavior were randomly assigned to VRAPT (N = 64) or waiting list control group (N = 64). VRAPT consisted of 16 one-hour individual treatment sessions twice a week. Assessments were done at baseline, post-treatment and at 3-month follow-up. Primary outcome measures were aggressive behavior observed by staff and self-reported aggressive behavior. Analysis was by intention to treat. This trial was registered in the Dutch Trial Register (NTR, TC = 6340). Participants were included between March 1, 2017, and December 31, 2018. Compared to waiting list, VRAPT did not significantly decrease in self-reported or observed aggressive behavior (primary outcomes). Hostility, anger control, and non-planning impulsiveness improved significantly in the VRAPT group compared to the control group at post-treatment. Improvements were not maintained at 3-month follow-up. Results suggest that VRAPT does not decrease aggressive behavior in forensic inpatients. However, there are indications that VRAPT temporarily influences anger control skills, impulsivity and hostility.</p>}},
author = {{Tuente, Stéphanie Klein and Bogaerts, Stefan and Bulten, Erik and Keulen-De Vos, Marije and Vos, Maarten and Bokern, Hein and Ijzendoorn, Sarah van and Geraets, Chris N.W. and Veling, Wim}},
issn = {{2077-0383}},
keywords = {{Aggressive behavior; Forensic psychiatry; Randomized controlled trial; Severe psychopathology; Social information processing model; Virtual reality}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{7}},
publisher = {{MDPI AG}},
series = {{Journal of Clinical Medicine}},
title = {{Virtual reality aggression prevention therapy (VRAPT) versus waiting list control for forensic psychiatric inpatients : A multicenter randomized controlled trial}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jcm9072258}},
doi = {{10.3390/jcm9072258}},
volume = {{9}},
year = {{2020}},
}