Virtual Reality-Based Digital Resilience Intervention for Migrant Adolescents: A Pilot Study

Background and Purpose: Rapid urbanization worldwide has caused over 740 million internal migrants moving within their national borders. Internal migrants, particularly those without permanent local residency, face many challenges that warrant targeted, strength-based interventions to promote their resilience and adaptation in new environments. Recent increase in health technology use, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, has popularized digital resilience interventions that have shown positive effects on children’s mental health. This pilot study explores the effects of a customized virtual reality (VR) role-playing videogame, "the Transfer Student," on the psychological resilience of Chinese rural-to-urban migrant youth, a population significantly underrepresented in resilience intervention research, especially in digital resilience interventions.

Methods: In a randomized controlled trial, 62 migrant adolescents (ages 12–17, 72% male) were randomized to play a customized virtual reality game (treatment), where the character overcame challenges as a rural student adapting to an urban school, or watch VR-based scenic videoclips (control). Participants’ psychological resilience was assessed immediately before and after the intervention through the self-reported Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10 (CD-RISC-10). Participants’ intervention experiences were assessed through real-time game-embedded behavioral data, such as assessing participants' immersion in the virtual environment through eye movement tracking. This study was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, #ChiCTR2400081729.

Results: The intervention group’s psychological resilience significantly improved at posttest compared with the control group (Hedge’s g = 0.47, SE = 0.32). The improvement was particularly salient in those with highly immersive intervention experiences. In addition, the intervention appeared to be more effective for girls (g = 0.49), older adolescents (g = 0.61), and adolescents who are new to digital intervention approaches (g = 0.60), although these subgroup differences warrant further evaluation with larger samples. In addition, participants’ level of immersion in the virtual environment was significantly related to intervention effectiveness.

Conclusions and Implications: The findings preliminarily support the feasibility and efficacy of this VR-based game as a digital resilience intervention approach for migrant youth. Effect size comparison with previous studies indicates that this digital approach seems more conducive for our sampled adolescents compared with traditional resilience intervention modalities. Future research should test this approach in larger, more diverse adolescent populations.