{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,4]],"date-time":"2026-08-04T06:46:31Z","timestamp":1785825991815,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,4]],"date-time":"2026-08-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785801600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Mild-to-moderate depression is highly prevalent among Chinese college students, with conventional treatments having limitations. This study aimed to explore psychological benefits brought by a standardized immersive virtual reality (IVR) game intervention.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This pilot randomized controlled trial enrolled 70 participants split into intervention and control groups; all obtained routine psychological guidance, and the intervention group received a standardized IVR program.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Significant group-by-time interactions were detected for negative affect (NA) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001). Post-correction analyses revealed sustained reductions in NA in the intervention group starting at T3; the between-group PSQI difference at T6 showed a medium effect size but failed to reach statistical significance after Bonferroni correction, suggesting a possible trend toward improved sleep quality that requires verification in larger samples.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This IVR program acts as a targeted adjunctive tool to reduce negative affect for college students. No significant improvements in core clinical depression severity (HAMD-17) were detected. Broader clinical antidepressant effects cannot be inferred from the present exploratory findings.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Clinical trial registration<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      <jats:ext-link>https:\/\/www.chictr.org.cn<\/jats:ext-link>\n                      , identifier ChiCTR2400093178.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1792596","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,4]],"date-time":"2026-08-04T06:05:20Z","timestamp":1785823520000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Immersive virtual reality as an auxiliary intervention for college students with mild-to-moderate depressive symptoms: a pilot randomized controlled trial"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Zhiquan","family":"Xie","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Zhaoqing Medical College","place":["Zhaoqing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qisheng","family":"Liang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Third People\u2019s Hospital of Zhaoqing","place":["Zhaoqing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Li","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Third People\u2019s Hospital of Zhaoqing","place":["Zhaoqing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jiequn","family":"Xie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Qingcheng District People\u2019s Hospital of Qingyuan","place":["Qingyuan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shaohao","family":"Xie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The People\u2019s Hospital of Dinghu District","place":["Zhaoqing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Liqin","family":"Zou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Zhaoqing Medical College","place":["Zhaoqing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"79","DOI":"10.1080\/15622975.2022.2086295","article-title":"World Federation of Societies of biological psychiatry (Wfsbp) guidelines for treatment of anxiety, obsessive-compulsive and posttraumatic stress disorders - version 3. 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