Video Game Play to Alleviate Adolescent Anxiety

Summary

Adolescence is a critical period for the onset and maintenance of anxiety disorders, which raises the importance of intervening early; one possibility of doing so is via digital interventions. At least two lines of research have been explored in the past years in this area. First, studies have tested the anxiolytic effects of casual video games, hypothesizing that, through the induction of flow, these games can effectively distract individuals from anxiety-related thoughts and feelings. Second, the bidirectional link between poor attentional control and higher anxiety has led to the design of novel interventions aiming to improve attentional control such as working memory training studies. Importantly, action video games, classified as a distinct gaming genre, have been shown to enhance attentional control. In this study, we aim to compare the effects of action video game play and casual game play to a no-training group, assessing their potential to alleviate anxiety when delivered entirely online. The goal of this three- arms randomized controlled trial is to evaluate the feasibility of a 6-week video game training intervention to reduce adolescent anxiety-related symptoms. We will also examine the efficacy of the proposed treatment when entirely deployed at adolescents' home.

Conditions

• Anxiety
• Anxiety Disorders and Symptoms

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Eco-Rescue

Ecorescue is a gamified adaptation of the multiple object tracking task (MOT) combined with a detection task. It requires to track the spatial position of specific moving targets among visually similar moving distractors, while at the same time detecting briefly flashed events. It was designed to load on attentional control and visuo-spatial working memory. Additionally, targets may express various facial emotions (happy, angry or neutral) requiring some emotional control in addition to attentional control.

BEHAVIORAL

Bejelewed 3

Bejeweled 3 is a commercially available puzzle video game developed and edited by PopCap Games. The main objective is to swap two adjacent gems of seven colors to create a line or row of 3 or more gems of the same type. When these gems are aligned, they disappear, and points are earned. The goal is to get as many points as possible until it is impossible to line up gems. Bejeweled 3 offers a variety of game modes that players can freely explore at their own pace, enhancing the overall enjoyment and providing increased variability during each gaming session. These game modes typically have shorter durations, with a single game usually lasting less than 5 minutes. Bejeweled 3 was chosen as it requires fewer attentional resources compared to Eco-Rescue and because it was reported to reduce stress and anxiety in adult samples (Russoniello et al. 2009, 2013).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Geneva, Switzerland

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Haifa

  collaborator OTHER

• Swiss National Science Foundation

  collaborator OTHER

• School of Health Sciences Geneva

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Daphné Bavelier, Professor · University of Geneva, Switzerland

• Swann Pichon, Professor · HES - Geneva School of Health Science, Switzerland

• Tomer Shechner, Professor · University of Haifa, Israel

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

11 Years

Max Age

15 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-06-01

Primary Completion

2026-06-30

Completion

2026-06-30

Countries

• Israel
• Switzerland

Study Locations