Virtual Reality to Support Adults’ Understanding of Children’s Perspectives: A Scoping Review

This scoping review mapped research on the use of virtual reality (VR) to help parents, caregivers, and teachers understand children’s perspectives through child-centered simulations. Five databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, EBSCO, Web of Science, and Scopus) were systematically searched for relevant studies published from 1994 to February 2025, yielding 15 eligible studies. The simulations varied in their levels of embodiment, narrative configuration, realism, and interactivity. Across designs, child-centered VR was commonly associated with increased empathic concern and appreciation of children’s experience among adults, although effects on cognitive perspective taking were mixed. Acceptability was generally high, though cybersickness and technical glitches constrained immersion. Most studies were small-scale, cross-sectional, non-randomized, reliant on self-report measures and lacked stakeholder involvement in design. While the evidence base remains limited and heterogeneous, the review suggests that child-centered VR may function as a distinctive tool for developmental translation, whose impact depends on its underlying design mechanisms.