Domestic violence has long-term negative consequences on children. In this study, men with a history of partner aggression and a control group of non-offenders were embodied in a child’s body from a first-person perspective in virtual reality (VR). From this perspective, participants witnessed a scene of domestic violence where a male avatar assaulted a female avatar. We evaluated the impact of the experience on emotion recognition skills and heart rate deceleration responses. We found that the experience mainly impacted the recognition of angry facial expressions. The results also indicate that males with a history of partner aggression had larger physiological responses during an explicit violent event (when the virtual abuser threw a telephone) compared with controls, while their physiological reactions were less pronounced when the virtual abuser invaded the victim’s personal space. We show that embodiment from a child’s perspective during a conflict situation in VR impacts emotion recognition, physiological reactions, and attitudes towards violence. We provide initial evidence of the potential of VR in the rehabilitation and neuropsychological assessment of males with a history of domestic violence, especially in relation to children.

家庭暴力对儿童有长期的负面影响。在这项研究中，从虚拟现实 (VR) 中的第一人称视角来看，具有伴侣攻击史的男性和对照组的非犯罪者体现在孩子的身体中。从这个角度，参与者目睹了男性化身殴打女性化身的家庭暴力场景。我们评估了体验对情绪识别技能和心率减速反应的影响。我们发现，这种经历主要影响对愤怒面部表情的识别。结果还表明，与对照组相比，有伴侣攻击史的男性在明确的暴力事件中（当虚拟施虐者扔电话时）有更大的生理反应，而当虚拟施虐者侵入受害者的个人空间时，他们的生理反应就不那么明显了。我们表明，在 VR 冲突情况下，从儿童的角度来看，具体化会影响情绪识别、生理反应和对暴力的态度。我们提供了 VR 在有家庭暴力史的男性康复和神经心理学评估方面潜力的初步证据，尤其是与儿童有关的。