VR Regulators: Using Virtual Reality to Equip Early Childhood Professionals with Evidence-Based Strategies for Child Emotion Management

Background: Young children have experienced increased emotional difficulties including anxiety, emotion dysregulation, and tantrums. Limited access to mental health services has created an urgent need for accessible interventions to equip professionals with evidence-based strategies for managing children's strong emotions. This study piloted an innovative virtual reality (VR) simulation designed to teach professionals evidence-based emotion management techniques. Methods: Participants included 107 early childhood professionals (e.g., educational, healthcare, allied health) working with children aged 3-6 years from the southeastern United States. The multilingual VR simulation taught professionals’ evidenced-based emotion management strategies. Participants completed either a temper tantrum management simulation (n=71) or separation anxiety simulation (n=36). Participants’ responses to children's strong emotions were assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and at one-month follow-up, along with a satisfaction survey. Results: Participants reported a significant increase in intent to use evidence-based strategies immediately following VR completion (Cohen's d = 0.51, p < 0.001). However, actual use of evidence-based strategies showed no significant change at one-month follow-up (Cohen's d = -0.03, p = 0.391). Being a Spanish-speaking professional was associated with significantly greater improvements in both intent (β = 0.17, p = 0.024) and actual use of evidence-based strategies at follow-up (β = 0.37, p < 0.001). Participants reported high satisfaction ratings (M = 4.59-4.74 on 5-point scale) with the VR simulations. Conclusions: VR simulations show promise as an innovative tool for teaching emotion management strategies, particularly benefiting Spanish-speaking early childhood professionals. While effective for immediate motivation, additional support mechanisms may be needed to sustain long-term behavior change in professional practice.