Exploring visual representations of safety as an initial stage in selecting virtual relaxation content: a correlational study



Cite item

Full Text

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent type of mental disorders; however, only approximately one quarter of affected individuals receive treatment. There is a pressing need to develop advanced medical and psychological interventions, including virtual reality-based therapies, to improve care for these disorders.

AIM: To study mental imagery associated with psychological safety and inner comfort in individuals for the purpose of optimizing the selection of relaxation content for virtual reality devices.

METHODS: Participants completed standartised measures assessing stress load and emotional well-being, and provided brief description of their safe place imagery. The following instruments were employed: the Social Adjustment Scale — Self-Report questionnaire, the Well-Being, Activity, Mood inventory, and the “Safe Place” interview questionnaire. Statistical analysis included significance testing with the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests; Spearman correlation analysis; and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Additionally, qualitative analysis was conducted on the “safe place” narratives to identify the frequency of key semantic categories.

RESULTS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 192 adults (age range 18–82) stratified into three groups: 18 to 39 years (n=97); 40 to 49 years (n=55); and 50 years and older (n=40). An inverse correlation was found between age and overall stress-load scores, while age was positively correlated with emotional well-being. Peak stress-load was observed in the 18 to 39 age group. Among generalized semantic groupings of safe place imagery, descriptions of natural objects predominated (68.2%), followed by urban motifs (22.9%), with intrapsychic imagery and attributes/symbolism of spirituality being less frequent (8.9%). Within the natural category, water images were most common (39.5%); personal-space images occurred 2.4 times more often in the 50 years and older age group than in younger strata.

CONCLUSION: Individuals under 40 experience the highest levels of distress and are in need of relaxation interventions. Imagery of safe places across all age groups is typically associated by bodies of water; individuals over 50 prefer enclosed, personal spaces. The identified semantic categories can serve as a basis for compiling thematic catalogues of virtual libraries for relaxation programs.

About the authors

Tatiana Buzina

Email: tbuzina@gmail.com
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-8834-251X
https://www.msmsu.ru/obrazovanie/teaching-staff/2160/

Dr. Sci. (Psychol.), Assistant Professor

Russian Federation

Anastasia Kotelnikova

Email: nikitina_nd@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-1584-4815
Scopus Author ID: 57194742733
ResearcherId: AAF-3481-2021

д.пc.н, доцент кафедры педагогики и медицинской психологии Института психолого-социальной работы ФГАОУ ВО Первый Московский государственный медицинский университет имени И.М. Сеченова Министерства здравоохранения Российской Федерации; доцент кафедры общей психологии ФГБОУ ВО Российского университета медицины Минздрава России (Москва, Россия).

Yuri Zinchenko

Email: nikitina_nd@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-6271-2327
Scopus Author ID: 26655128800
ResearcherId: F-4021-2012

академик РАО, членкорреспондент РАН, д. психол. н., профессор

Natalia Nikitina

ФГБОУ ВО «Российский университет медицины» Минздрава России

Author for correspondence.
Email: nikitina_nd@mail.ru

клинический психолог, старший лаборант кафедры общей психологии ФГБОУ ВО Российского университета медицины Минздрава России (Москва, Россия).

References

  1. Alonso J, Liu Z, Evans-Lasko S, et al. Treatment gap for anxiety disorders is global: Results of the World Mental Health Surveys in 21 countries. Depress Anxiety. 2018;35(3):195–208. doi: 10.1002/da.22711
  2. Avedisova AS, Arkusha IA, Akzhigitov RG, et al. [Prevalence of anxiety separation disorder in adult outpatients with non-psychotic mental disorders]. Zhurnal nevrologii i psihiatrii im. S.S. Korsakova. 2020;120(6):92–98. Russian. doi: 10.17116/jnevro202012006192
  3. Esin OR, Esin RG, Hajrullin IH. [Anxiety in children and adolescents with primary headaches: diagnosis and treatment options]. Zhurnal nevrologii i psihiatrii im. S.S. Korsakova. 2022;122(9-2):46–50. Russian. doi: 10.17116/jnevro202212209246
  4. Peshkovskaya AG, Galkin SA, Larionova AV, Kornetov AN. [Prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder symptoms and their associations with behavioral attitudes and perception of the future in the Russian youth]. Byulleten' sibirskoj mediciny. 2023;22(3):68–73. Russian. doi: 10.20538/1682-0363-2023-3-68-73
  5. Korabel'nikova EA. [Anxiety disorders in adolescents]. Medicinskij sovet. 2018;(18):34–43. Russian. doi: 10.21518/2079-701X-2018-18-34-43
  6. Morosanova VI, Kondratyuk NG, Potanina AM. [Regulatory resources of professional self-determination in students under stress: research approaches and theoretical foundations]. Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriya 14, Psihologiya. 2024;47(2):31–60. Russian. doi: 10.11621/LPJ-24-14
  7. World Health Organization. Mental health of older adults [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization; c2025 [cited 2025 Nov 11]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-of-older-adults
  8. Ivanec NN, Sysoeva VP, Kinkul'kina MA, Avdeeva TI. [Anxiety disorders in elderly patients: psychopathological characteristics, diagnosis, similarities and differences with anxious depression]. Zhurnal nevrologii i psihiatrii im. S.S. Korsakova. 2014;114(5):4–11. Russian.
  9. Kosonogov VV, Efimov KV, Rakhmankulova ZK, Zyabreva IA. [A review of psychophysiological and psychotherapeutic studies of stress with virtual reality technologies]. Zhurnal vysshei nervnoi deyatel'nosti im. I.P. Pavlova. 2022;72(4):487–503. Russian. doi: 10.31857/S0044467722040062
  10. Buzina TS, Kotel'nikova AV, Shalina OS, et al. [Psychological issues in the development and implementation of VR technologies in the system of medical education]. Nacional'nyj psihologicheskij zhurnal. 2024;19(2):47–59. Russian. doi: 10.11621/npj.2024.0204
  11. Bubnovskaya OV, Chemerskoj GS, Bodur VD. [Feeling of safety and perceived basic emotions: experimental eye tracking study]. Teoreticheskaya i eksperimental'naya psihologiya. 2023;(1):103–121. Russian. doi: 10.24412/TEP-23-8
  12. Zikeeva EA, Selivanov VV, Kapustina VYu, Strizhova IV. [The influence of didactic VR programs on educational motivation, mental states and creativity in students]. Psikhologo-pedagogicheskie issledovaniya. 2021;13(4):126–146. Russian. doi: 10.17759/psyedu.2021130408
  13. Kolosov YA, Kurkin DV, Gorbunova YV, et al. [The use of virtual reality technologies in pharmacy]. Khimiko-farmatsevticheskii zhurnal. 2024;58(1):42–49. Russian. doi: 10.30906/0023-1134-2024-58-1-42-49
  14. Kjeldgaard Pedersen L, Fisker LYV, Rölfing JD, et al. Virtual reality increases pressure pain threshold and lowers anxiety in children compared with control and non-immersive control-A randomized, crossover trial. Eur J Pain. 2023;27(7):805–815. doi: 10.1002/ejp.2108
  15. Shaderkina VA, Lelyuk AV, Altunin DV. [Virtual reality (VR) in pediatrics: international and Russian experience]. Rossiiskii zhurnal telemeditsiny i elektronnogo zdravookhraneniya. 2023;9(1):60–71. Russian. doi: 10.29188/2712-9217-2023-9-1-60-71
  16. Karpov OE, Daminov VD, Novak EV, et al. [Virtual reality technologies in medical rehabilitation as an example of modern health informatization]. Vestnik Natsional'nogo mediko-khirurgicheskogo tsentra im. N.I. Pirogova. 2020;15(1):89–98. Russian. doi: 10.25881/BPNMSC.2020.71.14.017
  17. Varlamov AV, Yakovleva NV. [Dynamics of perception distortions of human body physical dimensions in virtual reality]. Vestnik Rossiiskogo universiteta druzhby narodov. Seriya: Psikhologiya i pedagogika. 2021;18(1):254–270. Russian. doi: 10.22363/2313-1683-2021-18-1-254-270
  18. Lepilkina TA, Beniashvili AG, Starodubova AV, et al. [Virtual reality for relaxation: types and factors of efficiency]. Sovremennaya terapiya psihicheskih rasstrojstv. 2024;(1):32–42. Russian. doi: 10.21265/PSYPH.2024.27.29.004
  19. Rozanov IA. [Psychophysiological effects of psychological support in modeling space flight factors] [dissertaton]. Moscow; 2023. Russian.
  20. Harlamenkova NE, Tarabrina NV, Byhovec UV, et al. [Psychological security of personality: implicit and explicit concepts]. Moscow: Institut psihologii RAN; 2017. Russian.
  21. Holms TH, Rahe RH. The Social Readjustment Rating Scale. J Psychosom Res. 1967;11(2):213–218. doi: 10.1016/0022-3999(67)90010-4
  22. Vodop'yanova NE. [Psychodiagnostics of stress]. Saint-Petersburg: Piter; 2009. Russian.
  23. Smoleva EO. [The measuring of social stress: analysis of research methods and experience]. Sotsial'no-gumanitarnye tekhnologii. 2020;(3):70–79. Russian.
  24. Doskin VA, Lavrent'eva NA, Miroshnikov MP, Sharaj VB. [The test of differentiated self-assessment of the functional state]. Voprosy psihologii. 1973;19(6):141–145. Russian.
  25. Zyuz'ko MV. [Psychological counseling for a novice teacher]. Moscow: Prosveshchenie; 1995. Russian.
  26. [The results of the VPN2020. Volume 2. Age and gender composition and marital status] [Internet]. Moscow: Federal'naja sluzhba gosudarstvennoj statistiki; c2022 [cited 2024 Nov 11]. Russian. Available from: https://rosstat.gov.ru/vpn/2020/Tom2_Vozrastno_polovoj_sostav_i_sostoyanie_v_brake
  27. Heyse J, Torres Vega M, de Jonge M, de Backere F. Personalised Emotion-Based Model for Relaxation in Virtual Reality. Appl Sci. 2020;10(17):6124. doi: 10.3390/app10176124
  28. Hoover E. The Millennial Muddle. How stereotyping students became a thriving industry and a bundle of contradictions. The Chronicle of Higher Education [Internet]. 2009 Oct 11 [cited 2025 Aug 30]. Available from: https://web.archive.org/web/20110713233331/http://chronicle.com/article/The-Millennial-Muddle-How/48772
  29. Asadullina GR, Beschasnaja AA, Gajsina LM. [Generation Z: the diversity of identities, orientations, and behaviors: a collective monograph]. Ufa: Bashkirskii gosudarstvennyi universitet; 2021. Russian.
  30. Subbotin A. [Russian generation of millennials]. Sociologicheskoe obozrenie. 2020;19(1):328–337. Russian. doi: 10.17323/1728-192X-2020-1-328-338
  31. Blanchflower DG, Bryson A, Xu X. The declining mental health of the young and the global disappearance of the unhappiness hump shape in age. PLoS One. 2025;20(8):e0327858. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0327858
  32. Pardini S, Gabrielli S, Dianti M, et al. The Role of Personalization in the User Experience, Preferences and Engagement with Virtual Reality Environments for Relaxation. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(12):7237. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19127237
  33. Parma RV. [Civil activity of generations in modern Russian society]. Vestnik Instituta sociologii. 2022;13(2):31–47. Russian. doi: 10.19181/vis.2022.13.2.788
  34. Arendachuk IV. [Activity characteristics of social activity of youth of different age groups]. Izvestija Saratovskogo universiteta. Novaja serija. Serija: Akmeologija obrazovanija. Psihologija razvitija. 2020;9(2):148–161. Russian. doi: 10.18500/2304-9790-2020-9-2-148-161
  35. Parfenova OA, Galkin KA. [Social activity and participation of older Russians in the context of active longevity]. Zhurnal sociologii i social`noj antropologii. 2023;26(1):200–223. Russian. doi: 10.31119/jssa.2023.26.1.8
  36. Skripova TV. Arxetip vody` v industrii turizma i otdy`xa. Teoriya i praktika servisa: e`konomika, social`naya sfera, texnologii. 2014;20(2):87–97.
  37. Riches S, Azevedo L, Bird L, et al. Virtual reality relaxation for the general population: a systematic review. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2021;56(10):1707–1727. doi: 10.1007/s00127-021-02110-z

Supplementary files

Supplementary Files
Action
1. JATS XML
Download

Copyright (c) Buzina T., Kotelnikova A., Zinchenko Y., Nikitina N.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.