Using virtual reality to support substance use disorder treatment in people with an intellectual disability
This master thesis serves as the first phase of a larger project where a virtual reality product is developed to support the substance use disorder treatment in people with an intellectual disability. In this thesis the current knowledge regarding both substance use disorders and the adapted treatment for this particular group is summarized. After this, stakeholders in this project are identified and interviewed to gather requirements. With these requirements an iterative process of designing, developing and evaluating prototypes is started. It is found that this target group can be easily overwhelmed and distracted and therefore requires a virtual reality product that can gradually increase in complexity. This increase in complexity is implemented in both the realism of the virtual environments as well as the interaction with this environment in the second prototype. As this research is the first explorative step in a larger project to develop a complete virtual reality product, the findings and suggestions that relate to next phases of this project are discussed. It is found that the experienced realism of virtual substances and environments is dependent on a personal factor and this sprouts the idea for developing a content management system. Another suggestion is to use speech system for virtual characters and have the content be determined by actions of the user. Other suggestions include extending the virtual environments to emotional triggers of substance use such as an argument with a partner and to investigate the real world effects of successfully using a virtual talisman in a virtual risk situation.