Toward game-based digital mental health interventions: Player habits and preferences

作     者：Mandryk, Regan Lee Birk, Max Valentin 

作者机构：Interaction Lab Department of Computer Science University of Saskatchewan 176 Thorvaldson Bldg. 110 Science Place Saskatoon S7N5C9 SK Canada 

出 版 物：《Journal of Medical Internet Research》 (J. Med. Internet Res.)

年 卷 期：2017年第19卷第4期

页      面：E128页

学科分类：1204[管理学-公共管理] 1004[医学-公共卫生与预防医学(可授医学、理学学位)] 10[医学] 

主　　题：Anxiety Computer games Depression Mental health 

摘      要：Background: Designers of digital interventions for mental health often leverage interactions from games because the intrinsic motivation that results from game-based interventions may increase participation and translate into improved treatment efficacy. However, there are outstanding questions about the suitability (eg, are desktop or mobile interventions more appropriate?) and intervention potential (eg, do people with depression activate enough to play?) of games for mental health. Objective: In this paper, we aimed to describe the presently unknown relationship between gaming activity and indicators of well-being so that designers make informed choices when designing game-based interventions for mental health. Methods: We gathered validated scales of well-being (Beck s Depression Inventory [BDI-II], Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-9], trait anxiety [TA], and basic psychological needs satisfaction [BPNS]), play importance (control over game behavior: control;gamer identity: identity), and play behavior (play frequency, platform preferences, and genre preferences) in a Web-based survey (N=491). Results: The majority of our participants played games a few times a week (45.3%, 222/490) or daily (34.3%, 168/490). In terms of depression, play frequency was associated with PHQ-9 (P=.003);PHQ-9 scores were higher for those who played daily than for those who played a few times a week or less. Similarly, for BDI-II (P=.01), scores were higher for those who played daily than for those who played once a week or less. Genre preferences were not associated with PHQ-9 (P=.32) or BDI-II (P=.68);however, platform preference (ie, mobile, desktop, or console) was associated with PHQ-9 (P=.04);desktop-only players had higher PHQ-9 scores than those who used all platforms. Platform preference was not associated with BDI-II (P=.18). In terms of anxiety, TA was not associated with frequency (P=.23), platform preference (P=.07), or genre preference (P=.99). In terms of needs satisfa