Virtual Self-Touch and Acute Stress: The Role of Emotion Regulation and Trait Stress

Acute stress poses a significant challenge to psychological well-being and autonomic regulation, and prior self-touch may offer a novel regulatory buffer. The present study investigated psychological and physiological responses to virtual self-touch via immersive virtual reality (VR) and acute stress, focusing on the buffering power of emotion regulation and state mindfulness, and the moderating effect of trait stress. Healthy adult participants (n = 41, physiological subsample n = 32) were first exposed to a virtual self-touch experience, and then to stress (Trier Social Stress Test – TSST). Self-reported and physiological (ECG) measures were collected across experimental phases to evaluate the effects of virtual self-touch and the TSST. Specifically, we examined whether self-touch buffers subjective and cardiovascular stress responses. Additionally, we investigated how state emotion regulation, mindfulness, and trait perceived stress relate to post-stress outcomes. Results showed that virtual self-touch was associated with lower subjective tension and modest autonomic changes compared to baseline, indicating a potential role in preparing participants for subsequent stress. The TSST resulted in significant increases in subjective stress and coherent cardiovascular responses, characterized by elevated heart rate, sympathetic activation, and complex variations in vagal metrics. Post-TSST state stress was positively associated with state emotion regulation, particularly rumination and avoidance, indicating that heightened regulatory efforts may represent a reactive attempt to manage high levels of stress, rather than effective regulation. Overall, the findings underscore the complexity of stress regulation across psychological and physiological levels, emphasizing the role of individual differences; trait perceived stress moderated the emotion regulation–stress relationship in a sensitivity analysis, with stronger associations observed at lower levels of chronic stress. Virtual self-touch has the potential to support stress regulation, with promising clinical applications in the development of VR–assisted interventions aimed at reducing stress.