Knowledge
Conditions
Keywords
marijuana use, psychosis, youth, video game
Brief summary
The purpose of this pilot study is to explore whether the Back to Reality series of video games - Harry's Journey, Harry's Journal, and Pathways to care map - increase knowledge of the emotional, social, and psychiatric sequelae of problematic underage marijuana use among homeless and street involved youth. Additional objectives were to explore whether the video games promote awareness of the risk of psychosis associated with regular marijuana use among vulnerable youth.
Detailed description
This project pilots the use of educational video games designed to help youth gain awareness of the risk of mental health issues associated with regular marijuana use. By playing the Back to Reality video games, youths may absorb knowledge about where and how to access community care for symptoms associated with psychosis and problematic cannabis use. The purpose of this study is to pilot test the use of the Back to Reality series at increasing awareness of the social and emotional implications of underage substance use. This study explores the effects of the Back to Reality video games compared to control video games (no content about mental health and addiction). Street involved and homeless youth registered with Good Shepherd services between the ages of 16 and 19 years of age will be recruited. The results will be assessed using quantitative questionnaires and qualitative interviews. The data will be statistically analyzed for significant differences in knowledge about the risk of psychosis linked to marijuana use among vulnerable youth. The qualitative interview assesses the participants understanding and views of potential emotional, social, and psychiatric sequelae associated with excessive marijuana use during.
Interventions
OTHERBack to Reality Series Video Games
Back to Reality Series are a psycho-educational video games that provide information about psychosis and marijuana use from the perspective of 'Harry': a character who experiences problems with both issues. The aim is for players to learn how to detect some signs of psychosis and where to seek help for mental health and addictions problems.
OTHERControl Video Game
The control video game consists of digital puzzles and spelling game about pop culture. The control games does not have any content related to mental health and addictions problems
Sponsors
Good Shepherd Health Centre
McMaster University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
16 Years to 19 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Homeless or street involved youth * Registered at any of the Good Shepherd Hamilton Youth programs * Male, female, or transgender youth from 16-19 years of age as of visit 1. * Outpatient status * Each youth must understand the nature this study and sign informed consent
Exclusion criteria
* Youth judged by Good Shepherd staff to be at serious suicidal risk. * Youth who are being discharged from Good Shepherd programming. * Youth who are currently admitted in an in-patient unit at a hospital. * Youth who scores 5 or more on the Video Game Playing Problems questionnaire (Teijeiro Salguero & Bersabé-Morán, 2002). * Youth who do not have the capacity to provide informed consent.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Psychosis and Cannabis Quiz | 1.5 hour -Post video game playing | Assess for significant differences in the responses between randomized intervention (Back to Reality series) group versus a control game group with respect to Psychosis and Cannabis Quiz measure. Effect will be tested at a 2-sided α level of 0.05. |
| Early Psychosis Literacy | 1.5 hour -Post video game playing | Assess for significant differences in the responses between randomized intervention (Back to Reality series) group versus a control game group with respect to Early Psychosis Literacy measure. Effect will be tested at a 2-sided α level of 0.05. |
| Video Game Frequency | 1.5 hour -Post video game playing | Assess for significant differences in the responses between randomized intervention (Back to Reality series) group versus a control game group with respect to Video Game Frequency measure. Effect will be tested at a 2-sided α level of 0.05. |
Countries
Canada
Outcome results
None listed