Using Virtual Reality to Raise Public Awareness of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Preliminary Study

The aim of this study is the development of virtual environments (VEs) for raising public awareness about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (O.C.D.). Therefore, the study focused on two main research questions: a) exploring the characteristics of O.C.D. that a VE should incorporate, and b) the user's awareness regarding O.C.D. after navigating the VE. Regarding the first research question, interviews were carried out with four psychologists in order to specify the symptoms of the disorder that a VE should include. Secondly, the interaction scenario was created for the two VEs based on psychologists' interviews and relevant literature. Specifically, two types of O.C.D. were selected: Doubt and Checking O.C.D. and Contamination O.C.D. Three users evaluated the two environments in terms of user experience. Moreover, two psychologists and two persons suffering from O.C.D. evaluated the two VEs in terms of disorder's representation. The final part of the study was about exploring the awareness of 13 users after navigating the VEs. The results from interviews and questionnaires showed that the two VEs contributed to the understanding of the disorder. However, the results for the VE about Doubt and Checking O.C.D. was able to incite more empathy than Contamination O.C.D VE.