The Effects of a Virtual Reality-Based Training Program for Adolescents With Disruptive Behavior Problems on Cognitive Distortions and Treatment Motivation: Protocol for a Multiple Baseline Single-Case Experimental Design

Background: Serious disruptive behavior among adolescents is a prevalent and often persistent problem. This highlights the importance of adequate and effective treatment to help adolescents with disruptive behavior problems react less hostile and aggressive. In order to create a treatment environment in which behavioral change can be enhanced, treatment motivation plays an essential role. Regarding treatment itself, a focus on challenging self-serving cognitive distortions in order to achieve behavioral change is important. Street Temptations (ST) is a new training program that was developed to address both treatment motivation and cognitive distortions in adolescents with disruptive behavior problems. One of the innovative aspects of ST is the use of virtual reality (VR) techniques to provide adolescents during treatment with visually presented daily social scenarios to activate emotional engagement and dysfunctional cognitions. By using the VR scenarios as an integral starting point of ST's sessions and transferring the power of the VR experience into playful and dynamic exercises to practice social perspective-taking, adolescents are encouraged to reflect on both their own behavior and that of others. This focus on reflection is grounded in ST's main treatment mechanism to influence treatment motivation and cognitive distortions, namely, mentalizing (ie, reflective functioning). Objective: The aim of this study is to describe the research protocol to evaluate the effects of ST on treatment motivation and cognitive distortions. We take a closer look at the use of ST and the methodology used, namely, the repeated single-case experimental design (SCED). Methods: The effects of ST are studied through a multiple baseline SCED, using both quantitative and qualitative data. In total, 18 adolescents from secure residential youth care facilities and secondary special education schools are randomly assigned to 1 of the 3 different baseline conditions. Throughout the baseline phase (1, 2, or 3 weeks), intervention phase (4 weeks), and follow-up phase (1, 2, or 3 weeks), daily measurements on treatment motivation and cognitive distortions are conducted. Secondary study parameters are assessed before baseline, after intervention, and after follow-up. Qualitative data are collected after intervention, as well as at 3 months and 6 months after the intervention. Results: Data collection for this study started in November 2021 and is planned to be completed by August 2023. The results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national and international conferences. Conclusions: ST aims to improve the disruptive behavior problems of adolescents. This study will be the first to gain insights into the effectiveness of ST. The strengths of this study include its thorough and individually focused design (SCED), the focus on a residential as well as a secondary special education setting, and the ecological validity. The implications for practice are discussed.