Immersive Intergroup Contact: Using Virtual Reality to Enhance Empathy and Reduce Stigma Towards Schizophrenia

Stigma towards individuals with schizophrenia reduces quality of life, creating a barrier to accessing education and employment opportunities. Schizophrenia is one of the most stigmatized mental health conditions, and stigma is prevalent particularly among healthcare professionals. In this study, we investigated whether Virtual Reality (VR) can be incorporated into interventions to reduce stigma. In particular, we compared the effectiveness of three VR conditions based on intergroup contact theory in reducing stigma in form of implicit and explicit attitudes, and behavioral intentions. Through an immersive virtual consultation in a clinical setting, participants (N=60) experienced one of three different conditions: the Doctor's perspective (embodiment in a majority group member during contact), the Patient's perspective (embodiment in a minority group member) and a Third-person perspective (vicarious contact). Results demonstrated an increase of stigma on certain explicit measures (perceived recovery and social restriction) but also an increase of empathy (perspective-taking, empathic concern) across all conditions regardless of perspective. More importantly, participants' viewpoint influenced the desire for social distance differently depending on the perspective: the Third-person observation significantly increased the desire for social distance, Doctor embodiment marginally decreased it, while Patient embodiment showed no significant change. No change was found in the Implicit Association Test. These findings suggest that VR intergroup contact can effectively reduce certain dimensions of stigma toward schizophrenia, but the type of perspective experienced significantly impacts outcomes.