This pilot study aims to leverage VR's capacity to easily replicate content and allow for multiple users to share the same space and engage in activities as if they're meeting in person. Integrating VR into afterschool programs will allow youth to receive more consistent programming content, even when they are unable to travel to the physical location for the in-person meetings.

This pilot study aims to leverage VR's capacity to easily replicate content and allow for multiple users to share the same space and engage in activities as if they're meeting in person. Integrating VR into afterschool programs will allow youth to receive more consistent programming content, even when they are unable to travel to the physical location for the in-person meetings. It will also empower youth to engage with the afterschool program at their own pace by providing a safe space to learn and practice their socioemotional skills. Implemented at scale, these benefits of a VR-integrated afterschool program will be able to address the issues of health inequity head on by expanding access to high quality afterschool content without incurring high operating costs. The results from this pilot study will provide a critical foundation to apply for an extramurally funded clinical trial to demonstrate the efficacy of a VR-integrated afterschool program on youth mental wellbeing.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Children enrolled in the Chess & Community program
• Between the ages of 9-17

Exclusion Criteria:

• Children who are unable to wear a VR headset will not be recruited

De-identified data used in published analyses will be made available upon request to other researchers with a verified scientific purpose, guarantee that they will store the data securely, not share the data further, not attempt to use the data to determine the identities of research participants, and reference the source of the data in any resulting publications. Intellectual property rights to all software applications and hardware products will be maintained by the University of Georgia.

Verified scientific purpose, guarantee that they will store the data securely, not share the data further, not attempt to use the data to determine the identities of research participants, and reference the source of the data in any resulting publications

The study required participants to engage with the VR playground at least once a week for 4 weeks and use the smartwatch to track physical activity. Participants were required to wear their smartwatch during waking hours. We recruited and enrolled 32 adolescents (age range 9-17 years old, Mage = 12.46, SDage = 1.40).

Adverse events were monitored based on the study protocol during the 4 week intervention period, from enrollment to the end of the intervention.

The research team administered the intervention for one hour each week. Mild adverse events (e.g., cyber sickness from VR, skin irritation from wearables) were monitored by research staff. The IRB protocol outlines that these adverse events are mild and temporary. All-Cause Mortality and Serious Adverse Events were monitored/assessed but no events occurred.

Based on the discussions and conversations with the community partner who participated in the clinical trial, initial plans for the feasibility study were changed due to shifts in their programmatic priorities and personnel changes. As a result, the duration of the intervention was reduced from 8 weeks to 4 weeks and the intended sample size changed from 100 to 32 children. This was due to the substantial reduction of the afterschool program size following budgetary changes in the program.

Participants will be masked to which study condition they are assigned to.