Youth vaping prevention using immersive VR to boost emotion regulation
Official title: Youth Vaping Prevention through Immersive Technology
Funded at Yale University · NIH-11332970 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A school-based VR game helps 8th graders build emotion regulation skills to reduce vaping.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Yale University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New Haven, United States) |
| Project start | May 15, 2025 |
| Project end | April 30, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $679,421 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA294027-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11332970 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
8th grade students in middle schools, broadly including diverse school settings.
✕Less likely to help
Students who do not participate in the VR program or who do not engage with the emotion regulation components may see no direct benefit.
What this research studies
This project focuses on preventing e-cigarette use among adolescents by linking mental health and emotion regulation to vaping risk. It will prepare for and run a multi-site trial of a universal, VR-based prevention program called E-Invite Only VR, which reinforces emotion regulation and behavioral theory concepts in middle schools. The study involves collaboration with schools, game designers, and researchers to test and implement the intervention in real classroom settings. The goal is to determine if improving emotion regulation can lower the likelihood of picking up vaping in early adolescence and to understand how best to implement the program in diverse school environments.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, students may delay or avoid starting vaping and improve overall mental well-being through better emotion regulation skills.
How similar studies have gone: Preliminary pilot studies of the VR-based prevention approach showed promising results, supporting further testing.
Where this research is happening
-
Yale University
New Haven, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hieftje, Kimberly D — Yale University
- Study coordinator: Hieftje, Kimberly D
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.