Examining the Impacts on In-School Behaviors of In-Home Videogame Play

Summary

The proposed study aims to investigate the effects of children's in-home engagement with a biofeedback video game-based intervention on children's in-school behaviors. For the proposed study, families with no prior Mightier exposure will engage in online gameplay for eight weeks. Mightier will recruit families through social media and clinical settings, then Mightier will randomly assign participants to one of two groups: a group in which the child participant is encouraged to play Mightier games with biofeedback elements 45 or more minutes a week, broken into 3 or more sessions a week soon after baseline data have been collected, and a group in which the child participant receives Mightier and is invited to play Mightier games with biofeedback elements after all study baseline and follow-up data have been collected. The investigators will aim to enroll 20 parent-child dyads in each group.

Specific Aims and Hypotheses:

1. Demonstrate that child engagement in Mightier biofeedback video games is correlated to child improvement in school behaviors. The investigators hypothesize that teachers of child participants will report reductions in child school behavior challenges after 8 weeks of child Mightier gameplay.
2. Demonstrate that child engagement in Mightier biofeedback video games is correlated to child improvement in at-home behaviors and general improvement in emotion regulation. The investigators hypothesize that parents of child participants will report a reduction in child behavior challenges and improvements in child emotion regulation after 8 weeks of child Mightier gameplay.

Conditions

• Emotional Regulation
• Problem Behavior
• Irritable Mood

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Mightier Online Gameplay

Mightier is a video-game-based biofeedback intervention that capitalizes on children's love of video games to increase emotional awareness and facilitate emotion regulation practice through heart rate (HR) control. Each family receives a Mightier Kit (Mighty Band heart rate monitor, dedicated Mightier tablet unless the family prefers to use their own device) and the Mightier App. Children wear a "Mighty Band" heart rate monitor on their arm while they play any one of 26+ games. As their heart rate rises the games become more difficult. For example, during a cooking game, smoke may appear on the screen and obscure the player's view. Children can either opt into an explicit cool down activity (deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, crossing the midline, or visualization) or cool down on their own. By simply playing Mightier, children are motivated to practice calming strategies in moments of challenge.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Neuromotion Labs

  lead INDUSTRY

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

6 Years

Max Age

11 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-02-28

Primary Completion

2022-12-31

Completion

2022-12-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations