Understanding and Mitigating Substance Use in Social Settings with Virtual Reality: Insights from Emerging Research

<i>Background:</i> Substance use often takes place in social settings. Virtual reality (VR) can simulate social settings such as being offered substances and being around others who use substances at a party. <i>Objectives:</i> This study reviews the emerging literature on using VR to examine substance use in social contexts and explore intervention strategies to reduce such behavior. <i>Results:</i> The findings indicate that most research focuses on alcohol consumption and cigarette/e-cigarette use in venues like bars, home parties, and restaurants. Evidence suggests that VR effectively simulates complex social situations involving substances, and exposure to these environments can heighten substance cravings. However, research on VR-based interventions to mitigate substance use in social settings is still in its infancy, with only a few studies exploring interventions and limited evidence of their effectiveness. Overall, while the application of VR in studying and addressing substance use behaviors in social settings is in early development, it holds promise for enhancing our understanding and intervention strategies. Future research could pursue two main directions: 1) using VR-simulated social scenarios to differentiate and assess the influence of social and substance cues on triggering substance use, and 2) designing and evaluating VR-based interventions aimed at preventing substance use in these contexts. This paper discusses considerations for advancing these two research directions. <i>Conclusions:</i> VR shows great promise as both a research tool for enhancing our understanding of substance use in social settings and an intervention tool for reducing substance use in these environments.