Impact of Repeated Virtual Reality Training on Markers of Stress
August 13, 2026 updated by: Matt McAllister, Texas State University
Impact of Repeated Virtual Reality Based Law Enforcement Training on Stress Reactivity and Tactical Decision Making
The purpose of this study is to examine whether repeated exposure to an active shooter or target practice virtual reality (VR) scenario alters physiological and psychological stress responses over time.
Specifically, this study will determine whether the pattern and magnitude of stress habituation differ between the two VR conditions.
Study Overview
Status
Completed
Intervention / Treatment
Detailed Description
This study examines the effects of repeated virtual reality (VR) exposure on physiological and psychological stress responses by comparing an active shooter scenario with a target practice scenario.
Repeated exposure to a stressor may result in changes in physiological and psychological responses over time, a process known as stress habituation.
Therefore, the goal of this study is to determine whether repeated exposure to these two VR scenarios results in different patterns of stress habituation.
Heart rate, salivary stress biomarkers, and self-reported anxiety will be assessed across repeated VR exposures to evaluate changes in stress responses over time.
The findings from this research may provide insight into how stress responses change with repeated exposure to different types of VR scenarios and may inform the development of training approaches for individuals in high-stress occupations.
Study Type
Interventional
Enrollment (Actual)
50
Phase
- Not Applicable
Contacts and Locations
This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.
Study Locations
-
-
Texas
-
San Marcos, Texas, United States, 78666
- Texas State University
-
-
Participation Criteria
Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.
Eligibility Criteria
Ages Eligible for Study
- Adult
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Yes
Description
Inclusion Criteria:
- Generally healthy
- Between the ages of 18-39
- Student at texas state
Exclusion Criteria:
- No known cardiovascular or metabolic diseases
- Free from a major stressor in the last 30 days (recent divorce, birth of child, miscarriage, etc.)
- Not currently taking medication that can impact results (e.g., psychiatric medication typically prescribed for psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, etc.)
- Must also be free from any known psychiatric or physical illness (e.g., diabetes, myocardial infarction, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, alcoholism, epilepsy, severe motion sickness, etc.).
Study Plan
This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.
How is the study designed?
Design Details
- Primary Purpose: Other
- Allocation: Randomized
- Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
- Masking: Single
Arms and Interventions
Participant Group / Arm |
Intervention / Treatment |
|---|---|
|
Experimental: Active Shooter
Group assigned to active shooter scenarios only
|
Participants experienced a virtual reality simulation lasting ~3 minutes.
Participants took on the roll of a law enforcement officer responding to an active shooter situation in a gas station (trial 1), home (trial 2), and school (trial 3).
|
|
Experimental: Target Practice
Group assigned to two target practice scenarios and one active shooter scenario for the third trial only.
|
Participants experienced a virtual reality simulation lasting ~3 minutes.
Participants had two trials of target practice training and one trial of an active shooter scenario where they responded as a law enforcement officer in a school.
|
What is the study measuring?
Primary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
|
State Anxiety Inventory (SAI)
Time Frame: Timepoint 1-4 were 20 minutes pre, immediately pre, immediately post, and 15 minutes post
|
The SAI is a 6 question survey on a 24 point scale, asking the subject to record how they feel.
Questions asked were "I am calm," I am tense," "I am worried," "I am relaxed," etc. Subjects were asked to fill this out 4 times throughout the study, alongside HR and saliva samples.
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Timepoint 1-4 were 20 minutes pre, immediately pre, immediately post, and 15 minutes post
|
|
Heart Rate
Time Frame: HR was recorded 4 times, before each saliva sample period
|
Heart rate was recorded immediately prior to each saliva sample using a Polar Verity Sense heart rate wrist/arm strap.
|
HR was recorded 4 times, before each saliva sample period
|
|
Secretory Immunoglobulin-A
Time Frame: Measured using the saliva samples taken at timepoints 1-4 (20 min pre, immediately pre, immediately post, 15 min post)
|
SIgA is a marker of immune function and salivary SIgA concentrations tend to increase when exposed to stress
|
Measured using the saliva samples taken at timepoints 1-4 (20 min pre, immediately pre, immediately post, 15 min post)
|
|
Salivary Alpha Amylase
Time Frame: Measured using the saliva samples taken at timepoints 1-4 (20 min pre, immediately pre, immediately post, 15 min post)
|
sAA is an enzyme involved in digestive processes.
Amylase concentrations in saliva have been shown to reflect sympathetic stress.
Thus, as sympathetic stress increases, salivary amylase concentrations tend to increase.
|
Measured using the saliva samples taken at timepoints 1-4 (20 min pre, immediately pre, immediately post, 15 min post)
|
Collaborators and Investigators
This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.
Sponsor
Study record dates
These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.
Study Major Dates
Study Start (Actual)
October 1, 2025
Primary Completion (Actual)
May 1, 2026
Study Completion (Actual)
May 1, 2026
Study Registration Dates
First Submitted
August 13, 2026
First Submitted That Met QC Criteria
August 13, 2026
First Posted (Actual)
August 18, 2026
Study Record Updates
Last Update Posted (Actual)
August 18, 2026
Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria
August 13, 2026
Last Verified
August 1, 2026
More Information
Terms related to this study
Keywords
Additional Relevant MeSH Terms
Other Study ID Numbers
- IRB #10320
Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)
Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?
NO
IPD Plan Description
IRB at Texas State does not allow the sharing of individual data, and all data has already been made unidentifiable for this study.
Drug and device information, study documents
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product
No
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product
No
This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.