Virtual Reality Job Interview Training and 6-Month Employment Outcomes for Individuals with Substance Use Disorders...

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Psychiatry
• Digital Health

Background:

• Substance use disorders (SUDs) are associated with significant employment barriers, particularly job interviewing.
• Virtual reality (VR) training has demonstrated efficacy in enhancing interview skills and vocational outcomes for diverse clinical groups.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the acceptability and efficacy of virtual reality job interview training (VR-JIT) for individuals with SUDs.
• To assess VR-JIT's impact on interview skills and vocational success through a randomized controlled trial.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial compared 14 VR-JIT trainees with 11 treatment-as-usual (TAU) controls.
• Participants underwent up to 10 hours of VR interviews or standard care.
• Outcomes included video-recorded role-play interviews and 6-month vocational follow-up.

Main Results:

• VR-JIT was reported as easy-to-use and beneficial for interview preparation.
• Trainees showed a trend towards improved post-test role-play scores compared to controls.
• At 6-month follow-up, VR-JIT participants had significantly higher rates of competitive employment (78.6% vs. 44.4%) and fewer weeks searching for a job.

Conclusions:

• VR-JIT is an acceptable intervention for individuals with SUDs.
• VR-JIT demonstrates preliminary evidence of effectiveness in improving vocational outcomes, notably increasing the likelihood of obtaining competitive employment.
• Further research is recommended to integrate VR-JIT into community-based services.