A Mixed Reality Installation to Elicit Reflexivity on Adverse Childhood Experiences

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are an underestimated public health threat that impairs children’s brain development, immune and hormonal systems and predisposes them to various chronic mental and physical diseases. However, its negative impacts are not widely known by the general public. Author 1 created a mixed reality (MR) installation based on her personal experience with ACEs and ACEs-related Posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSD), which aims to provoke the audience’s reflection on ACEs and the influence of their upbringings on their mental and physical development. We captured and analyzed 12 audiences’ responses toward this artwork through semi-structured interviews and the thematic analysis method. The analysis proved that this MR installation is capable of eliciting the audience’s reflection on ACEs and their upbringing. In addition, The VR experience enabled participants to emotionally and somatically experience several symptoms of PTSD, and 75% of the participants demonstrated a high level of emotional self-awareness during the VR experience. Lastly, the analysis revealed that participants who had never encountered ACEs are more likely to sympathize with both the victim and abuser in a fictional narrative about ACEs than those who had undergone ACEs.