TY - JOUR

T1 - Therapeutic games to reduce anxiety and depression in young people

T2 - A systematic review and exploratory meta‐analysis of their use and effectiveness

AU - Eve, Zarah

AU - Turner, Martin

AU - Basilio, Daniela Di

AU - Harkin, Benjamin

AU - Yates, Alan

AU - Persson, Sofia

AU - Henry, John

AU - Williams, Ashley

AU - Walton, Geoff

AU - Jones, Marc V.

AU - Whitley, Charlotte

AU - Craddock, Nathan

PY - 2024/1/26

Y1 - 2024/1/26

N2 - Objective: The development of serious games for mental wellbeing is a topic of growing interest. The increase in acceptance of games as a mainstream entertainment medium combined with the immersive qualities of games provides opportunities for meaningful support and intervention in mental wellbeing. Method: We conducted a systematic review and exploratory meta-analysis to examine if aspects of the interventions influenced outcomes as measured via overall effect sizes. We employed a multilevel meta-analytic approach to accommodate the interdependency of effect sizes (18 effect sizes from 14 studies, with 2027 participants). Results: Overall, the main effect for gaming interventions on any outcome variable was small to medium sized, d =.35 (confidence interval [.23, 47], p <.001). Results revealed that the only significant moderator was the nature of the intervention. Specifically, only interventions that included a rational emotional behavioural focus significantly predicted an improvement in depression and/or anxiety in participants. Conclusion: The findings reveal promising effects for therapeutic games for mental health, but replications are needed, alongside the addressing of methodological and procedural concerns.

AB - Objective: The development of serious games for mental wellbeing is a topic of growing interest. The increase in acceptance of games as a mainstream entertainment medium combined with the immersive qualities of games provides opportunities for meaningful support and intervention in mental wellbeing. Method: We conducted a systematic review and exploratory meta-analysis to examine if aspects of the interventions influenced outcomes as measured via overall effect sizes. We employed a multilevel meta-analytic approach to accommodate the interdependency of effect sizes (18 effect sizes from 14 studies, with 2027 participants). Results: Overall, the main effect for gaming interventions on any outcome variable was small to medium sized, d =.35 (confidence interval [.23, 47], p <.001). Results revealed that the only significant moderator was the nature of the intervention. Specifically, only interventions that included a rational emotional behavioural focus significantly predicted an improvement in depression and/or anxiety in participants. Conclusion: The findings reveal promising effects for therapeutic games for mental health, but replications are needed, alongside the addressing of methodological and procedural concerns.

KW - anxiety

KW - depression

KW - meta-analysis

KW - serious games

KW - systematic review

U2 - 10.1002/cpp.2938

DO - 10.1002/cpp.2938

M3 - Review article

VL - 31

JO - Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy

JF - Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy

IS - 1

M1 - e2938

ER -