Parenting Journal · Volume 2 · Issue 4 · Licensed source edition
Exploring the moderating role of maternal attachment style on the impact of a virtual reality environment on parental empathy and style: A pilot study
Originally published 2026-08-24 · PLOS One
PLOS · DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0355199 ↗
Editorial reading guide · Kindness
What can a simulation teach me about a child’s perspective, and what can it miss?
The focus here is a simulated setting designed to help parents take a child’s perspective.
Who was studied?
Mothers participating in a virtual-reality pilot on parenting and empathy
Age / stage: Mothers participating in a pilot study
Read with three questions
- How did the authors investigate a simulated setting designed to help parents take a child’s perspective?
- Which participants completed follow-up, and was there a comparison condition?
- Did mothers report a change in empathy, parenting style, or both following the simulated experience?
Keep the limits in view
A pilot with nineteen British mothers offers limited precision, and self-reported changes may not transfer to behavior outside virtual reality.
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Original authorship, publication date, journal and DOI are preserved. This issue’s TRICK placement and reading questions are editorial additions, not claims made by the original authors.
Jac Neirin Airdrie; Domna Banakou; Crescent Jicol; Karin Petrini; Mel Slater; Catherine Hamilton-Giachritsis (2026). Exploring the moderating role of maternal attachment style on the impact of a virtual reality environment on parental empathy and style: A pilot study PLOS One. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0355199
Permissions checked against the saved article notice; repository publication notices screened 2026-11-04. This is not a new peer-review decision. The source authors and publishers are not represented as endorsing this issue.