A meta-analytic examination of attrition in virtual reality exposure therapy for anxiety disorders

Abstract

A proposed advantage of virtual reality exposure therapy for anxiety disorders is that people will be less likely to drop out of treatment prematurely if the treatment involves facing one's fear in a virtual world rather than the real world, but this has yet to be empirically tested. The present meta-analyses assess the odds of dropout from virtual reality exposure therapy compared to in vivo exposure therapy, estimate the overall rate of dropout from virtual reality exposure treatment, and test potential moderating variables. The odds ratio meta-analysis indicated that there was no significant difference in the likelihood of attrition from virtual reality exposure therapy relative to in vivo exposure therapy. The overall attrition rate for virtual reality exposure therapy across 46 studies with a combined sample size of 1057 participants was 16%. This rate is slightly lower than other estimates of dropout from in vivo therapy and from cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety disorders. Incorporation of between-session intervention (i.e., homework) was identified as a moderator; specifically, inclusion of between-session interventions in the treatment was associated with better retention. Overall, the findings of the present study indicate that virtual reality exposure and in vivo exposure therapy show similar rates of attrition.

Keywords: Anxiety; Attrition; Dropout; In vivo exposure; Meta-analysis; Virtual reality.