Digital Commons Network^™

The Experience Of Exposure Across Racial Groups: Differences In Presence During Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy For Social Phobia Across African-American And Caucasian Women, Natasha Mehta

Psychology Theses

Few studies have looked at the experience of exposure therapy (ET) amongst underrepresented populations. African-American (AA) women may be at higher risk for anxiety and experience treatment differently than their Caucasian counterparts. Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRE) is suited to examine differences in treatment experiences because a measure of “presence” exists to quantify the experience of standardized VRE. Qualitative methods provide an opportunity to explore the experience of underrepresented populations and individual differences. The current study employed a mixed-method design to compare self-reported levels of presence during VRE across a sample of 24 AA and Caucasian women diagnosed with social …