Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 29, 2026
Virtual Prism Adaptation Therapy: Protocol for Validation in Healthy Adults
Published on: February 12, 2020
Preliminary efficacy of a positive psychological intervention using virtual reality in older Korean immigrants:
Soonhyung Kwon1, Flavia C D Andrade2, Rosalba Hernandez2
1School of Social Work, University of South Florida.
Background:
Our study examines the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a culturally tailored and virtual reality-based positive psychological intervention (PPI) to ameliorate discrimination-related stress and adverse mental health and improve psychological well-being among older Korean immigrants with discrimination-related experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods:
This 3-week 2-arm RCT recruited older Korean immigrants (≥60), assigning them to either the intervention (N = 15) or a wait-list control arm (N = 16). The intervention group received four modules of PPI to recognize, amplify, and practice positive events. We conducted descriptive statistics to assess the feasibility and multivariate linear regression models to assess the preliminary efficacy.
Results:
The participants had a mean age of 80.9, 67.7% were female, and they had lived in the U.S. for 39.6 years. Adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, the intervention group showed greater reductions in discrimination-related stress (b = -4.02, p < 0.05) and perceived stress (b = -5.49, p < 0.05), as well as improvements in life engagement (b = 6.18, p < 0.01), compared to the control group.
Discussion:
The results underscore the significance of advanced technologies with culturally tailored features to address mental health disparities and highlight the benefits of PPI.
