Exercise and Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Acrophobia

The purpose of this study is to determine whether aerobic exercise can enhance the effects of exposure therapy treatment for fear of heights.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Fear of Heights
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Exercise

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 60
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Texas
    • Austin, Texas, United States, 78712
      • University of Texas at Austin

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 25 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 18 to 25
• Speaks English fluently
• Score of 80 or higher on the Acrophobia Questionnaire
• SUDS rating of 50 or higher on the Behavioral Avoidance Test or complete refusal to comply with instructions due to intensity of fear
• Passes the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire-Plus

Exclusion Criteria:

• Hearing or visually impaired
• Currently receiving exposure-based treatment for acrophobia
• Able to remain on floor 20 for 30 seconds during BAT with a SUDS rating < 50

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: No Exercise
Experimental: Exercise Pre; 30 minutes of aerobic exercise before exposure therapy	Behavioral: Exercise; 30 minutes of aerobic exercise on a treadmill at 80% of participant's heart rate reserve.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Fear scores	Change in fear scores using subjective units of distress will be assessed.	7 (+/- 3) days after exposure therapy
Perceived threat likelihood scores	Change in the perception of threat likelihood on a scale from 1-5 will be assessed.	7 (+/- 3) days after exposure therapy

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Skin conductance fluctuations	Changes in skin conductance fluctuations will be assessed.	7 (+/- 3) days after exposure therapy
Heart rate fluctuations	Heart rate fluctuations will be assessed.	7 (+/- 3) days after exposure therapy
Acrophobia Severity	Change in score on the Acrophobia Questionnaire	14 (+/- 3) days after exposure therapy
Attitudes Toward Heights	Change in score on the Attitudes Toward Heights Inventory	14 (+/- 3) days after exposure therapy
Clinical Global Improvement	Change in score on the Clinical Global Improvement Scale	14 (+/- 3) days after exposure therapy

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Texas at Austin
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jasper Smits, PhD, University of Texas at Austin

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: February 1, 2015
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 1, 2016
• Study Completion (Actual): January 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 29, 2015
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 5, 2015
• First Posted (Estimate): February 11, 2015

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): February 2, 2016
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 1, 2016
• Last Verified: February 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 2014-12-0037