Promoting Migrant Adolescent Resilience Through a Virtual Reality Videogame: A Randomized Trial

Purpose: This study explores the effects of a customized virtual reality (VR) role-playing videogame, “the Transfer Student,” on the psychological resilience of Chinese rural-to-urban migrant adolescents, a population significantly underrepresented in resilience intervention research. Method: Sixty-two migrant adolescents (ages 12–17) were randomized to play the videogame (intervention), where the character overcame challenges as a rural student adapting to an urban school, or watch VR-based scenic videoclips (control). Results: The intervention group showed moderate-size improvements in resilience at immediate post-test, compared with the control (Hedge's g = 0.47, SE = 0.32). Additionally, participants’ level of immersion in the virtual environment was significantly related to intervention effects. Discussion: The findings preliminarily support the feasibility and efficacy of this VR-based game as a digital resilience intervention approach for migrant adolescents. Future research should test this approach in larger, more diverse samples.