Can Videogames Be Used to Promote Emotional Intelligence in Teenagers? Results from EmotivaMente, a School Program

Carissoli, Claudia; Villani, Daniela

doi:10.1089/g4h.2018.0148

Cited by 27 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…However, use of Internet and digital solutions by youth is increasing worldwide, providing cost-effective opportunities for reaching this population with the delivery of self-help educational programs. Also, recent studies support our findings, showing that digital interventions based on chatbots or videogames can be highly engaging, improve well-being, and reduce stress for this population and for nonclinical populations [19][20][21].…”

Section: Principal Findingssupporting

confidence: 88%

A Chatbot-Based Coaching Intervention for Adolescents to Promote Life Skills: Pilot Study

Gabrielli¹,

Rizzi²,

Carbone³

et al. 2020

JMIR Hum Factors

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Background Adolescence is a challenging period, where youth face rapid changes as well as increasing socioemotional demands and threats, such as bullying and cyberbullying. Adolescent mental health and well-being can be best supported by providing effective coaching on life skills, such as coping strategies and protective factors. Interventions that take advantage of online coaching by means of chatbots, deployed on Web or mobile technology, may be a novel and more appealing way to support positive mental health for adolescents. Objective In this pilot study, we co-designed and conducted a formative evaluation of an online, life skills coaching, chatbot intervention, inspired by the positive technology approach, to promote mental well-being in adolescence. Methods We co-designed the first life skills coaching session of the CRI (for girls) and CRIS (for boys) chatbot with 20 secondary school students in a participatory design workshop. We then conducted a formative evaluation of the entire intervention—eight sessions—with a convenience sample of 21 adolescents of both genders (mean age 14.52 years). Participants engaged with the chatbot sessions over 4 weeks and filled in an anonymous user experience questionnaire at the end of each session; responses were based on a 5-point Likert scale. Results A majority of the adolescents found the intervention useful (16/21, 76%), easy to use (19/21, 90%), and innovative (17/21, 81%). Most of the participants (15/21, 71%) liked, in particular, the video cartoons provided by the chatbot in the coaching sessions. They also thought that a session should last only 5-10 minutes (14/21, 66%) and said they would recommend the intervention to a friend (20/21, 95%). Conclusions We have presented a novel and scalable self-help intervention to deliver life skills coaching to adolescents online that is appealing to this population. This intervention can support the promotion of coping skills and mental well-being among youth.

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Section: Principal Findingssupporting

confidence: 88%

A Chatbot-Based Coaching Intervention for Adolescents to Promote Life Skills: Pilot Study

Gabrielli¹,

Rizzi²,

Carbone³

et al. 2020

JMIR Hum Factors

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In addition, an interesting 6-week EmotivaMente training intervention based on a range of 13 commercial video games has been recently developed and incorporated with school training for adolescents by Carissoli and Villani [ 77 ]. Although the study failed to show improvements in emotional intelligence outcomes and the use of adaptive emotion regulation strategies post training, participants showed improvements in cognitive reappraisal and the expression of emotions in relation to the self.…”

Section: New Perspective: the Case For Commercial Video Gamesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gaming Your Mental Health: A Narrative Review on Mitigating Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety Using Commercial Video Games

Kowal¹,

Conroy²,

Ramsbottom³

et al. 2021

JMIR Serious Games

101

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Globally, depression and anxiety are the two most prevalent mental health disorders. They occur both acutely and chronically, with various symptoms commonly expressed subclinically. The treatment gap and stigma associated with such mental health disorders are common issues encountered worldwide. Given the economic and health care service burden of mental illnesses, there is a heightened demand for accessible and cost-effective methods that prevent occurrence of mental health illnesses and facilitate coping with mental health illnesses. This demand has been exacerbated post the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent increase in incidence of mental health disorders. To address these demands, a growing body of research is exploring alternative solutions to traditional mental health treatment methods. Commercial video games have been shown to impart cognitive benefits to those playing regularly (ie, attention control, cognitive flexibility, and information processing). In this paper, we specifically focus on the mental health benefits associated with playing commercial video games to address symptoms of depression and anxiety. In light of the current research, we conclude that commercial video games show great promise as inexpensive, readily accessible, internationally available, effective, and stigma-free resources for the mitigation of some mental health issues in the absence of, or in addition to, traditional therapeutic treatments.

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“…If this influence is confirmed, preventive interventions could focus on sustaining adolescent's emotional competencies, also by taking advantages of new methods and tools, such as video games and mobile applications aimed at helping adolescents in managing their affective states. 55,56…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adolescents' Beliefs About Peers' Engagement in an Online Self-Harm Challenge: Exploring the Role of Individual Characteristics Through a Latent Class Analysis

Villani

Florio

Sorgente

et al. 2019

Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking

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In the last decade considerable attention has been devoted to the possible contribution of social media, and the Internet generally, to instigating adolescents' engagement in self-harm activities, which are considered the result of a combination of multidimensional variables, such as depression and anxiety. This study aimed to identify, using latent class analysis (LCA), classes homogeneous for adolescents' beliefs about peers' motivations in taking part in the recent Blue Whale Challenge Game, and to analyze the individual predictors (gender, mental health problems, self-harm and risk-taking behaviors, and problematic Internet use) of the adolescent's latent class membership. We performed an LCA using ''perceived attraction'' and ''perceived constraint'' as nominal indicators. Relative fit indices suggested the two class solution as the best measurement model: the first class was mostly composed of adolescents who attributed a central role to the adolescent (internal causality), while the second class mostly composed of adolescents who attributed a central role to the recruiters (external causality). In addition, we explored some individual characteristics to test whether they could predict adolescents' class membership. Results suggests that it is significantly more likely for adolescents with higher level of stress and risk-taking to attribute a central role to their peers' internal motivation, rather than to the recruiter, in deciding to take part in the online self-harm challenge game. Implications for preventive interventions are discussed.

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Can Videogames Be Used to Promote Emotional Intelligence in Teenagers? Results from EmotivaMente, a School Program

Cited by 27 publications

References 42 publications

A Chatbot-Based Coaching Intervention for Adolescents to Promote Life Skills: Pilot Study

A Chatbot-Based Coaching Intervention for Adolescents to Promote Life Skills: Pilot Study

Gaming Your Mental Health: A Narrative Review on Mitigating Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety Using Commercial Video Games

Adolescents' Beliefs About Peers' Engagement in an Online Self-Harm Challenge: Exploring the Role of Individual Characteristics Through a Latent Class Analysis

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