Exploring Visual Representations of Safety in Virtual Relaxation Content: A Correlational Study.

BACKGROUND

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders, yet only about a quarter of affected individuals receive treatment. This necessitates the development of high-technology care approaches, including virtual reality.

AIM: To analyze mental imagery associated with psychological safety and inner comfort to optimize the selection of relaxation content for virtual reality.

METHODS

Participants completed standardized questionnaires: the Social Readjustment Rating Scale, the Well-being, Activity, Mood questionnaire, and a Safe Place interview. Statistical analysis included significance testing and one-way analysis of variance. Descriptions of safe places underwent qualitative analysis to identify the frequency of key semantic categories.

RESULTS

A total of 192 respondents (18-82 years) were stratified into three age groups: 18-39 (n=97), 40-49 (n=55), and 50 years and older (n=40). Age was negatively correlated with overall stress levels and positively correlated with emotional well-being. The highest stress levels were in the 18-39 age group. For safe place imagery, most descriptions (68.2%) were of natural landscapes, followed by urban motifs (22.9%); intrapsychic and spiritual symbols accounted for 8.9%. Within natural landscapes, water-related images were most frequent (39.5%). The image of a confined personal space was 2.4 times more common in participants aged 50 years and older.

CONCLUSION

The highest distress levels were observed in individuals under 40, indicating a greater need for relaxation interventions. Across all age groups, images of water associated with a safe place, while participants aged 50 years and older more frequently preferred personal spaces. The identified semantic categories can form a basis for thematic catalogs in virtual relaxation libraries.