Russell Pine, James Mbinta, Lisa Te Morenga, Theresa Fleming
{"title":"A Novel Casual Video Game With Simple Mental Health and Well-Being Concepts (Match Emoji): Mixed Methods Feasibility Study.","authors":"Russell Pine, James Mbinta, Lisa Te Morenga, Theresa Fleming","doi":"10.2196/46697","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Adolescence is a crucial phase for early intervention and prevention of mental health problems. Casual video games are popular and have promise as a novel mechanism for reaching young people, but this potential has seldom been explored.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aimed to explore the acceptability, feasibility, and possible indicators of therapeutic changes after playing a purpose-built novel casual video game (Match Emoji) with simple mental health and well-being content among young adolescents.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a single-arm, nonrandomized trial of Match Emoji with 12- to 14-year-old school students (N=45; 26 [57%] New Zealand European, 12 [26%] Māori; 7 [15%] Asian or Pacific; 27 [60%] boys, 3 [6%] non-binary). Participants were invited to play Match Emoji for 15 minutes, 2-3 times a week over 2 weeks (a total of 60 minutes). Acceptability was assessed through the frequency and duration of use (analytics analyzed at the end of the 2-week intervention period and at weeks 4 and 6) and through participant reports. The Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM), General Help-Seeking Questionnaire (GHSQ), Flourishing Scale (FS), and Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS) were assessed at baseline and week 2 to indicate possible effects. Focus groups were held in week 4.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Most participants (n=39, 87%) used Match Emoji for at least 60 minutes over the 2-week intervention, with 80% (36/45) continuing to play the game after the intervention period. Mean change (from baseline to 2 weeks) on each measure was 1.38 (95% CI -0.03 to 2.79; P=.06) for CAMM; 0.8 (95% CI -2.71 to 4.31; P=.64) for GHSQ; -1.09 (95% CI -2.83 to 0.66; P=.21) for FS; and -3.42 (95% CI -6.84 to -0.001; P=0.49) for RCADS. Focus group feedback suggested that Match Emoji was enjoyable and helpful.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The casual video game with mental health content appeared to be acceptable and provided a promising indication of possible therapeutic effects. This approach is worthy of further investigation.</p><p><strong>International registered report identifier (irrid): </strong>RR2-10.2196/31588.</p>","PeriodicalId":14795,"journal":{"name":"JMIR Serious Games","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10897793/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"JMIR Serious Games","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.2196/46697","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Adolescence is a crucial phase for early intervention and prevention of mental health problems. Casual video games are popular and have promise as a novel mechanism for reaching young people, but this potential has seldom been explored.
Objective: This study aimed to explore the acceptability, feasibility, and possible indicators of therapeutic changes after playing a purpose-built novel casual video game (Match Emoji) with simple mental health and well-being content among young adolescents.
Methods: We conducted a single-arm, nonrandomized trial of Match Emoji with 12- to 14-year-old school students (N=45; 26 [57%] New Zealand European, 12 [26%] Māori; 7 [15%] Asian or Pacific; 27 [60%] boys, 3 [6%] non-binary). Participants were invited to play Match Emoji for 15 minutes, 2-3 times a week over 2 weeks (a total of 60 minutes). Acceptability was assessed through the frequency and duration of use (analytics analyzed at the end of the 2-week intervention period and at weeks 4 and 6) and through participant reports. The Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM), General Help-Seeking Questionnaire (GHSQ), Flourishing Scale (FS), and Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS) were assessed at baseline and week 2 to indicate possible effects. Focus groups were held in week 4.
Results: Most participants (n=39, 87%) used Match Emoji for at least 60 minutes over the 2-week intervention, with 80% (36/45) continuing to play the game after the intervention period. Mean change (from baseline to 2 weeks) on each measure was 1.38 (95% CI -0.03 to 2.79; P=.06) for CAMM; 0.8 (95% CI -2.71 to 4.31; P=.64) for GHSQ; -1.09 (95% CI -2.83 to 0.66; P=.21) for FS; and -3.42 (95% CI -6.84 to -0.001; P=0.49) for RCADS. Focus group feedback suggested that Match Emoji was enjoyable and helpful.
Conclusions: The casual video game with mental health content appeared to be acceptable and provided a promising indication of possible therapeutic effects. This approach is worthy of further investigation.
International registered report identifier (irrid): RR2-10.2196/31588.
期刊介绍:
JMIR Serious Games (JSG, ISSN 2291-9279) is a sister journal of the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR), one of the most cited journals in health informatics (Impact Factor 2016: 5.175). JSG has a projected impact factor (2016) of 3.32. JSG is a multidisciplinary journal devoted to computer/web/mobile applications that incorporate elements of gaming to solve serious problems such as health education/promotion, teaching and education, or social change.The journal also considers commentary and research in the fields of video games violence and video games addiction.