Key result
Active inflatable DPT vest tends to reduce anxiety biosignals, linked to social touch comfort.
Why the study?
There is limited understanding of the factors that lead to successful anxiety reduction with deep pressure therapy using the Automatic Inflatable DPT Vest.
Does the Active AID Vest reduce anxiety in individuals compared to an inactive vest?
Does the Active AID Vest reduce anxiety in individuals compared to an inactive vest?
Deep pressure therapy via an inflatable vest may reduce anxiety, particularly in individuals comfortable with social touch.
May support anxiety relief from active vests in select individuals; hypothesis-generating and requires randomized confirmation before practice change.
One method for managing anxiety, a highly prevalent modern mental health condition, is the calming touch sensations of deep pressure therapy (DPT). Solutions for administering DPT include the Automatic Inflatable DPT (AID) Vest, which we designed in past work. Although benefits of DPT are clear in a subset of the related literature, these benefits are not ubiquitous. There is limited understanding of what factors lead to DPT success for a given user. In this work, we present the findings of a user study ( N = 25) that evaluates the effects of the AID Vest on anxiety. We compared physiological and self-reported measures of anxiety across Active (inflating) and Control (inactive) states of the AID Vest. In addition, we considered the presence of placebo effects and assessed participant comfort with social touch as a potential moderator. The results support our ability to reliably induce anxiety, and show that the Active AID Vest tended to reduce biosignals related to anxiety. We also found a significant relationship between comfort with social touch and reductions in self-reported state anxiety for the Active condition. Those who seek to successfully deploy DPT can benefit from this work.
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Bontula et al. (2023) studied Anxiety (n=25). Automatic Inflatable DPT (AID) Vest (Active state) vs. Control (inactive) state of the AID Vest was evaluated on Physiological and self-reported measures of anxiety. The Active Automatic Inflatable DPT Vest tended to reduce anxiety-related biosignals, with reductions in self-reported state anxiety significantly related to comfort with social touch.
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