Trial reportThe Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine2021
Feasibility of a Web-Accessible Game-Based Intervention Aimed at Improving Help Seeking and Coping Among Sexual and Gender Minority Youth: Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial.
Trial report in The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The Use of Waivers of Guardian Permission in the United States for Pediatric Digital Health Intervention Research Since 2020: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Pooled it
- Game Design, Effectiveness, and Implementation of Serious Games Promoting Aspects of Mental Health Literacy Among Children and Adolescents: Systematic Review.JMIR mental health · 2025Pooled it
- Interventions with Digital Tools for Mental Health Promotion among 11-18 Year Olds: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of youth and adolescence · 2023Pooled it
- A multicomponent digital intervention to promote help-seeking for mental health problems and suicide in sexual and gender diverse young adults: A randomized controlled trial.PLoS medicine · 2023Trial
- An Identity-Affirming Web Application to Help Sexual and Gender Minority Youth Cope With Minority Stress: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Trial
- Inclusion of underserved young people in digital public health interventions for mental health, sexual health and substance use: A systematic review and intervention component analysis.Internet interventions · 2026Review
- Cost-effectiveness of digital health interventions for supporting mental health of children and young people: a rapid review and narrative synthesis.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Review
- Gamified Digital Mental Health Interventions for Young People: Scoping Review of Ethical Aspects During Development and Implementation.JMIR serious games · 2024Article
- The effects of family support and smartphone-derived homestay on daily mood and depression among sexual and gender minority adolescents.Journal of psychopathology and clinical science · 2024Article
- Online randomised trials with children: A scoping review.PloS one · 2023Article
- Article
- Coping Strategies to Enhance the Mental Wellbeing of Sexual and Gender Minority Youths: A Scoping Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Gaming Preferences and Motivations Among Bullied Sexual and Gender Minority Youth: An Interview Study.Games for health journal · 2022Article
- Need for Inclusive Consideration of Transgender and Gender Diverse People in E-Health Services: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Review
- Information and communication technology-based health interventions for transgender people: A scoping review.PLOS global public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors.
Funding
Abstract
purposeTo address the gap in interventions for improving sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY; e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth) health, we tested the feasibility of a game-based intervention for increasing help-seeking, productive coping skills, resource knowledge/use, and well-being.
methodsWe conducted a 2-arm randomized controlled trial testing a theory-based, community-informed, Web-accessible computer role-playing game intervention. Control condition received a list of resources. Primary hypotheses were high levels of implementation success, game demand, and game acceptability.
resultsWe randomized 240 SGMYs aged 14-18 years into the intervention (n = 120) or control (n = 120) conditions. Participants completed baseline (100%), 1-month follow-up (T2; 73.3%), and 2-month follow-up (T3; 64.4%) surveys. Among intervention participants, 55.8% downloaded and played the game. Of those who played, 46.2% reported a desire to play it again, and 50.8% would recommend it. Game acceptability exceeded hypothesized benchmarks, wherein participants reported high positive affect (M = 2.36; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.13, 2.58), low negative affect (M = 2.75; 95% CI: 2.55, 2.95), low tension/annoyance (M = 3.18; 95% CI: 2.98, 3.39), and high competence (M = 2.23; 95% CI: 2.04, 2.43) while playing the game. In multivariable intent-to-treat analyses of 38 secondary/tertiary outcomes, intervention participants reported significantly larger reductions than control participants in cyberbullying victimization (T2 b = -.28; 95% CI: -.56, -.01), binge drinking frequency (T2 b = -.39; 95% CI: -.71, -.06), and marijuana use frequency (T3 b = -2.78; 95% CI: -4.49, -1.08).
conclusionsWe successfully implemented a Web-accessible game trial with SGMY. The game-based intervention was feasible and acceptable to SGMY, and preliminary results show it improved several health-related behaviors. A larger scale trial is needed to test whether the game-based intervention can reduce health inequities for SGMY.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.