Effectiveness of applied and casual games for young people's mental health: A systematic review of randomised controlled studies

Effectiveness of applied and casual games for young people's mental health: A systematic review of randomised controlled studies

Forfattere
Wols, A. Pingel, M. Lichtwarck-Aschoff, A. Granic, I.
Årstall
2024
Tidsskrift
Volum
108
Sider
102396
Many youth experience mental health problems and digital games hold potential as mental health interventions. This systematic review provides an overview of randomised controlled studies assessing the effectiveness of digital applied and casual games for improving mental health in youth aged 6-24 years. A systematic search of PsycINFO, Web of Science and Pubmed yielded 145 eligible studies. Studies on (sub)clinical participant samples (n = 75) most often focused on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and anxiety. Applied games were found most effective for improving social skills, verbal memory and anxiety, whereas casual games were found most effective for improving depression, anxiety and ADHD. Studies involving healthy youth (n = 70) were grouped into papers examining anxiety in medical settings, momentary effects on positive and negative affect, and papers employing a longitudinal design measuring mental health trait outcomes. Promising results were found for the use of games as distraction tools in medical settings, and for applied and casual games for improving momentary affect. Overall, our findings demonstrate the potential of digital games for improving mental health. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed, such as developing evaluation guidelines, clearly defining applied games, harmonising outcome measures, including positive outcomes, and examining nonspecific factors that may influence symptom improvement as well.

Oversett med Google Translate
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Tiltaksnivå

Forebyggende og helsefremmende tiltak

Behandling og hjelpetiltak

Tema

Psykiske vansker og lidelser

Følelsesmessige problemer

Depresjon og nedstemthet (inkl. både vansker og lidelse)

Angstproblematikk

Angst og engstelighet (inkl. både vansker og lidelse)

Autismespekter

Utvikling og livsmestring

Kognisjon (hukommelse, oppmerksomhet, eksekutive funksjoner)

Sosiale ferdigheter (inkl. vennerelasjoner)

Tiltak

Organisering av tiltak

E-helsetiltak (spill, internett, telefon)

Aldersgruppe

Barn i skolealder (6-12 år)

Ungdom (13-18 år)

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