Effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and virtual reality-based worry exposure therapy on cognitive avoidance and emotional capital in adolescents with social anxiety
Solmaz Choheili, F. Marashian, Sahar Safarzadeh, P. Asgari
Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth June 4, 2026 DOI: 10.1080/1045988x.2026.2681181 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Quasi-experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 60 |
| Population | Adolescents aged 12–18 years with social anxiety in Ahvaz, Iran |
| Interventions | Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) Virtual reality-based worry exposure therapy (VR-WET) |
| Duration | Eight weekly sessions; three-month follow-up |
| Topics | Anxiety Meditation |
| Key findings | Both mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and virtual reality-based worry exposure therapy reduced cognitive avoidance and increased emotional capital compared with a no-treatment control group, with large effect sizes (partial eta squared .77 and .70) maintained at three-month follow-up. No differences emerged between the two interventions. The authors caution that the no-treatment control design limits causal interpretation. |
Abstract
Abstract This quasi-experimental study investigated the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) and virtual reality-based worry exposure therapy (VR-WET) on cognitive avoidance and emotional capital in adolescents with social anxiety. In Ahvaz, Iran, 60 adolescents aged 12–18 years were randomly assigned to MBCT (n = 20), VR-WET (n = 20), or a no-treatment control group (n = 20). The intervention groups received eight weekly sessions. Data were collected using standardized questionnaires and analyzed with repeated measures ANOVA. Both interventions significantly reduced cognitive avoidance (ηp2 = .77) and increased emotional capital (ηp2 = .70) compared to the control group (p < .01), with effects maintained at three-month follow-up. No differences emerged between MBCT and VR-WET. Given the no-treatment control design, caution is warranted in interpreting causal mechanisms.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on anxiety, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| A PILOT STUDY OF GROUP MINDFULNESS-BASED COGNITIVE THERAPY (MBCT) FOR COMBAT VETERANS WITH POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) Veterans with chronic combat posttraumatic stress disorder seeking treatment at a VA... | 2013 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual comparison group | n = 37 |
| Being present in the face of existential threat: The role of trait mindfulness in reducing defensive responses to mortality salience. | 2010 | Experimental study | |
| Neural correlates of mindfulness meditation-related anxiety relief Healthy adults with no prior meditation experience | 2013 | Within-subjects experimental study | n = 15 |
| Intensive mindfulness training-related changes in cognitive and emotional experience Community adults | 2009 | Quasi-experimental and longitudinal | n = 69 |
| Prospective examination of synthetic 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine inhalation: effects on salivary IL-6, cortisol levels, affect, and non-judgment Volunteers | 2019 | Within-subjects experimental study | n = 11 |
Citations in the library
Cites 6
- Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy: Theory and Practice The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry February 1, 2012
- Improving self-regulation in adolescents: current evidence for the role of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy Adolescent Health Medicine and Therapeutics September 1, 2016
- The Effectiveness of Virtual Reality-Based Mindfulness Interventions for Managing Stress, Anxiety, and Depression: Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. JMIR Research Protocols June 30, 2025
- The Effect of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy on Anxiety and Resilience of the School Going Early Adolescents with Anxiety Journal of Indian Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health April 1, 2022
- A Brief Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) Intervention as a Population-Level Strategy for Anxiety and Depression International Journal of Cognitive Therapy April 20, 2021
and 1 more in the library