Does virtual reality increase the success of interventions? Comparing non-VR and VR Virtual-PRO programmes’ efficacy for the prevention of sexual harassment among adolescents

Virtual-PRO is a bystander-based programme with a Virtual Reality (VR) component. The current study focuses on testing the effectiveness of the same programme without VR, where multimedia content is played as 2D video, to clarify the advantages of VR over traditional sources for the prevention of sexual harassment. A cluster RCT was carried out with three experimental conditions (control group, experimental VR, and experimental non-VR) and three different time points (pre-test, post-test, and follow-up), separated by three-month intervals. In the study, 847 students aged 12–17 years (M = 14.73; SD = 0.88) were randomly grouped into the experimental VR group (n = 286), experimental non-VR group (n = 268), and control group (n = 293). Linear mixed model analyses were performed using SPSS 29. At follow-up, the experimental non-VR group was found to score lower for verbal/visual victimisation, online victimisation, and moral disengagement than the control group. Moreover, hostile sexism scores remained stable in the non-VR experimental group and increased in the control group. No significant differences were found when comparing the experimental condition with and without VR for online and verbal/visual sexual victimisation, moral disengagement or sexist attitudes. The only difference found between the two experimental conditions was in intention to intervene as a bystander, for which scores increased in the experimental group with VR. The results of this study clarify the advantages of using VR as a tool to elicit attitudinal change in sexual harassment bystanders and to aid decision-making regarding the cost-benefit of universal interventions.