The Experience of Exposure Across Racial Groups: Differences in Presence During Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Social Phobia Across African-American and Caucasian Women

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 phobia. The study also examined how AA women discussed their experiences of VRE (N=4). Results revealed that AA women reported greater presence than their Caucasian counterparts. Qualitative results highlighted benefits and areas of improvement in the experience of exposure therapy. These findings have important implications for differential experiences of treatment. INDEX WORDS: Exposure therapy, Virtual Reality Exposure, Experience of treatment, AfricanAmerican, Women THE EXPERIENCE OF EXPOSURE ACROSS RACIAL GROUPS: DIFFERENCES IN PRESENCE DURING VIRTUAL REALITY EXPOSURE THERAPY FOR SOCIAL PHOBIA ACROSS AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND CAUCASIAN WOMEN