Emotional Problem, Mental Health Issue
Conditions
Keywords
online therapeutic game, game-based CBT, emotional problems, mental health, children and adolescents
Brief summary
To test the effect of a game-based intervention in reducing clinical and subclinical symptoms of children and adolescents.
Detailed description
The general objective of the study is to test the REThink therapeutic game for improvements in clinical and subclinical mental health symptoms in children and adolescents aged 8-16 years old from multiple schools and counties. The game will be used by children and adolescents from the experimental group for a period of four weeks. Pre-test and post-test measurements will be taken.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALREThink therpeutic game
REThink is an online therapeutic game aimed at enhancing the emotional health of young people, grounded in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). The game features a character named RETMAN, who guides players through seven levels, each focused on teaching a specific emotional regulation skill. Each level has three sub-levels that progressively increase in difficulty. REThink can be used as a standalone intervention, an adjunct to self-help psychotherapeutic approaches, or for targeted skills training.
Sponsors
The Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding
Babes-Bolyai University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
8 Years to 16 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* children and adolescents aged 8 to 16 years * subclinical level on the SDQ measure, total score, or emotional symptoms * parental consent provided
Exclusion criteria
* intellectual disability or physical limitations precluding the use of the online game * does not have parental informed consent
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Mental health | baseline assessment, one week prior to the intervention | Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997). The scale has 25-items within its five subscales, namely emotional symptoms (ES), conduct problems (CP), hyperactivity/inattention (HY), peer relationship (PR) problems and prosocial behavior (PS) and total mental health difficulties score (MHD). The items are rated on a 3-point Likert scale, from 0 (not true) to 2 (certainly true). The minimum score is 0 and the maximum is 40. Higher scores represent higher level of mental health difficulties. |
| Changes in mental health | post-test assessment, one week after the intervention | Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997). The scale has 25-items within its five subscales, namely emotional symptoms (ES), conduct problems (CP), hyperactivity/inattention (HY), peer relationship (PR) problems and prosocial behavior (PS) and total mental health difficulties score (MHD). The items are rated on a 3-point Likert scale, from 0 (not true) to 2 (certainly true). The minimum score is 0 and the maximum is 40. Higher scores represent higher level of mental health difficulties. |
| Irrationality | baseline assessment, one week prior to the intervention | The Child and Adolescent Scale of Irrationality (CASI, Bernard & Cronan, 1999) will be used in order to test irrational/rational beliefs as a mechanism of change. Children and adolescents were asked to express their agreement/disagreement with the 28 statements on a 5-point Likert-type scale, from 1 (strong disagreement) to 5 (strong agreement). The minimum score is 28 and the maximum score is 140. Higher scores represent higher levels of irrationality. |
| Changes in irrationality | post-test assessment, one week after the intervention | The Child and Adolescent Scale of Irrationality (CASI, Bernard & Cronan, 1999) will be used in order to test irrational/rational beliefs as a mechanism of change. Children and adolescents were asked to express their agreement/disagreement with the 28 statements on a 5-point Likert-type scale, from 1 (strong disagreement) to 5 (strong agreement). Higher scores represent higher levels of irrationality. |
Countries
Romania
Outcome results
None listed