Virtual reality body exposure and attentional bias modification in the treatment of adolescents with anorexia nervosa

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe psychiatric disorder characterized by intense fear of gaining weight and persistent body image disturbance. Virtual reality–based mirror exposure therapy (VR-MET) may reduce body-related fear through embodied exposure, while attentional bias modification training (A...

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Autores: Ascione, Mariarca, Carulla-Roig, Marta, Meschberger-Annweiler, Franck-Alexandre, Serrano Troncoso, Eduardo, Blasco Martínez, Anna, Guerrero Álvarez, Fernando, Miquel, Helena, Mendoza-Medialdea, María Teresa, Porras-García, Bruno, Ferrer, Marta (Ferrer García), Moreno Sánchez, Manuel, Gutiérrez Maldonado, José
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2026
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Oviedo (UNIOVI)
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:ubarcelona__::a20d86cd1aa2d716f613fe78b20d1eec
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/229297
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Adolescents
Seguiment de la mirada
Realitat virtual en la medicina
Anorèxia nerviosa
Teenagers
Eye tracking
Virtual reality in medicine
Anorexia nervosa
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spelling Virtual reality body exposure and attentional bias modification in the treatment of adolescents with anorexia nervosaAscione, MariarcaCarulla-Roig, MartaMeschberger-Annweiler, Franck-AlexandreSerrano Troncoso, EduardoBlasco Martínez, AnnaGuerrero Álvarez, FernandoMiquel, HelenaMendoza-Medialdea, María TeresaPorras-García, BrunoFerrer, Marta (Ferrer García)Moreno Sánchez, ManuelGutiérrez Maldonado, JoséAdolescentsSeguiment de la miradaRealitat virtual en la medicinaAnorèxia nerviosaTeenagersEye trackingVirtual reality in medicineAnorexia nervosaAnorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe psychiatric disorder characterized by intense fear of gaining weight and persistent body image disturbance. Virtual reality–based mirror exposure therapy (VR-MET) may reduce body-related fear through embodied exposure, while attentional bias modification training (ABMT) may enhance exposure learning by promoting balanced attentional allocation. This controlled clinical study tested the hypothesis that adjunctive VR-MET would improve clinical outcomes beyond treatment as usual (TAU) alone, and that preceding VR-MET with ABMT would produce additional benefits in adolescent females with AN. Seventy-five female adolescents with AN were allocated to TAU, TAU+VR-MET or TAU+ABMT+VR-MET. Assessments were conducted pre- and post-intervention. Outcomes included eye-tracking indices of attentional bias (number of fixations, complete fixation time), state anxiety and fear of gaining weight, BMI and eating disorder–related measures. Compared with TAU alone, both VR-based conditions showed greater reductions in state anxiety and fear of gaining weight. State body dissatisfaction decreased significantly only in the TAU+VR-MET group. No significant changes were observed for BMI or most trait-level eating disorder measures. ABMT did not enhance clinical outcomes beyond VR-MET. Within the short-term assessment window, adjunctive VR-MET was associated with reductions in state-dependent emotional responses in adolescents with AN. Effects on trait-level symptoms were limited, and ABMT did not confer additional benefit in this unselected sample. Fully randomized studies with larger samples, extended exposure protocols, and follow-up assessments are needed to determine durability and broader clinical impact.John Wiley & Sons2026info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/2445/229297Articles publicats en revistes (Psicologia Clínica i Psicobiologia)reponame:Dipòsit Digital de la UBinstname:Universidad de Oviedo (UNIOVI)InglésReproducció del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.70273Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 2026, vol. 33, num.2, e70273https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.70273cc by (c) Ascione, Mariarca et al., 2026https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:dnet:ubarcelona__::a20d86cd1aa2d716f613fe78b20d1eec2026-05-27T06:46:51Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Virtual reality body exposure and attentional bias modification in the treatment of adolescents with anorexia nervosa
title Virtual reality body exposure and attentional bias modification in the treatment of adolescents with anorexia nervosa
spellingShingle Virtual reality body exposure and attentional bias modification in the treatment of adolescents with anorexia nervosa
Ascione, Mariarca
Adolescents
Seguiment de la mirada
Realitat virtual en la medicina
Anorèxia nerviosa
Teenagers
Eye tracking
Virtual reality in medicine
Anorexia nervosa
title_short Virtual reality body exposure and attentional bias modification in the treatment of adolescents with anorexia nervosa
title_full Virtual reality body exposure and attentional bias modification in the treatment of adolescents with anorexia nervosa
title_fullStr Virtual reality body exposure and attentional bias modification in the treatment of adolescents with anorexia nervosa
title_full_unstemmed Virtual reality body exposure and attentional bias modification in the treatment of adolescents with anorexia nervosa
title_sort Virtual reality body exposure and attentional bias modification in the treatment of adolescents with anorexia nervosa
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Ascione, Mariarca
Carulla-Roig, Marta
Meschberger-Annweiler, Franck-Alexandre
Serrano Troncoso, Eduardo
Blasco Martínez, Anna
Guerrero Álvarez, Fernando
Miquel, Helena
Mendoza-Medialdea, María Teresa
Porras-García, Bruno
Ferrer, Marta (Ferrer García)
Moreno Sánchez, Manuel
Gutiérrez Maldonado, José
author Ascione, Mariarca
author_facet Ascione, Mariarca
Carulla-Roig, Marta
Meschberger-Annweiler, Franck-Alexandre
Serrano Troncoso, Eduardo
Blasco Martínez, Anna
Guerrero Álvarez, Fernando
Miquel, Helena
Mendoza-Medialdea, María Teresa
Porras-García, Bruno
Ferrer, Marta (Ferrer García)
Moreno Sánchez, Manuel
Gutiérrez Maldonado, José
author_role author
author2 Carulla-Roig, Marta
Meschberger-Annweiler, Franck-Alexandre
Serrano Troncoso, Eduardo
Blasco Martínez, Anna
Guerrero Álvarez, Fernando
Miquel, Helena
Mendoza-Medialdea, María Teresa
Porras-García, Bruno
Ferrer, Marta (Ferrer García)
Moreno Sánchez, Manuel
Gutiérrez Maldonado, José
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Adolescents
Seguiment de la mirada
Realitat virtual en la medicina
Anorèxia nerviosa
Teenagers
Eye tracking
Virtual reality in medicine
Anorexia nervosa
topic Adolescents
Seguiment de la mirada
Realitat virtual en la medicina
Anorèxia nerviosa
Teenagers
Eye tracking
Virtual reality in medicine
Anorexia nervosa
description Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe psychiatric disorder characterized by intense fear of gaining weight and persistent body image disturbance. Virtual reality–based mirror exposure therapy (VR-MET) may reduce body-related fear through embodied exposure, while attentional bias modification training (ABMT) may enhance exposure learning by promoting balanced attentional allocation. This controlled clinical study tested the hypothesis that adjunctive VR-MET would improve clinical outcomes beyond treatment as usual (TAU) alone, and that preceding VR-MET with ABMT would produce additional benefits in adolescent females with AN. Seventy-five female adolescents with AN were allocated to TAU, TAU+VR-MET or TAU+ABMT+VR-MET. Assessments were conducted pre- and post-intervention. Outcomes included eye-tracking indices of attentional bias (number of fixations, complete fixation time), state anxiety and fear of gaining weight, BMI and eating disorder–related measures. Compared with TAU alone, both VR-based conditions showed greater reductions in state anxiety and fear of gaining weight. State body dissatisfaction decreased significantly only in the TAU+VR-MET group. No significant changes were observed for BMI or most trait-level eating disorder measures. ABMT did not enhance clinical outcomes beyond VR-MET. Within the short-term assessment window, adjunctive VR-MET was associated with reductions in state-dependent emotional responses in adolescents with AN. Effects on trait-level symptoms were limited, and ABMT did not confer additional benefit in this unselected sample. Fully randomized studies with larger samples, extended exposure protocols, and follow-up assessments are needed to determine durability and broader clinical impact.
publishDate 2026
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2026
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/2445/229297
url https://hdl.handle.net/2445/229297
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Reproducció del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.70273
Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 2026, vol. 33, num.2, e70273
https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.70273
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv cc by (c) Ascione, Mariarca et al., 2026
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv cc by (c) Ascione, Mariarca et al., 2026
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv John Wiley & Sons
publisher.none.fl_str_mv John Wiley & Sons
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv Articles publicats en revistes (Psicologia Clínica i Psicobiologia)
reponame:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
instname:Universidad de Oviedo (UNIOVI)
instname_str Universidad de Oviedo (UNIOVI)
reponame_str Dipòsit Digital de la UB
collection Dipòsit Digital de la UB
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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score 15,81155

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