Effects of Exposure to Virtual Nature on Negative Affect in Adolescents: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Exposure to nature through virtual reality (VR) technology may provide various psychological and physiological benefits. However, evidence regarding adolescents remains limited. To address this gap, the present study examined the effects of exposure to virtual nature in a VR room on adolescents’ affective states (i.e., positive and negative affect) and physiological stress responses (i.e., salivary α-amylase) using a randomized controlled trial. The study also tested whether the effects of the VR intervention varied according to individual differences in environmental sensitivity assessed as a personality trait (i.e., trait sensitivity). Thirty-four Japanese adolescents were randomly assigned to either a Forest condition or a Clock condition. A significant Condition × Time interaction was detected in a mixed linear model predicting negative affect. Negative affect decreased from pre- to post-intervention in the Forest condition, but not in the Clock condition. Individual differences in trait sensitivity did not moderate the effects of the VR intervention. Overall, the findings of this study are consistent with those reported in systematic reviews and meta-analyses with adult samples. Specifically, while the effects on positive affect and physiological stress responses were inconsistent, reductions in negative affect emerged relatively robustly.