ReviewBJPsych open2022
The effectiveness of gaming interventions for depression and anxiety in young people: systematic review and meta-analysis.
Review in BJPsych open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 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
9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evaluating the validity of game-based assessments measuring cognitive function among children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Progress in brain research · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of Serious Games on Depression in Older Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Pooled it
- Facilitating Thought Progression to Reduce Depressive Symptoms: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Trial
- The Preliminary Efficacy and Feasibility of SMILE Serious Game for Adolescents and Young Adults: Protocol for Cluster Randomized Multisite Adaptive Trial Design.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Exploring Serious Games in Supporting Postnatal Depression: Narrative Review.Interactive journal of medical research · 2026Review
- A videogame for perceived risk of harm from opioid misuse in adolescents: a randomized controlled trial.Nature health · 2026Article
- Associations between social frailty, use of digital device and depression among community-dwelling older adults: A population-based cross-sectional study.Geriatrics & gerontology international · 2025Article
- EmoWELL: effectiveness of a serious game for emotion regulation in emerging adulthood.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Smartphone-based serious games for mental health: a scoping review.Multimedia tools and applications · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRecent research has investigated the use of serious games as a form of therapeutic intervention for depression and anxiety in young people.
aimsTo conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis into the effectiveness of gaming interventions for treating either depression or anxiety in individuals aged 12-25 years.
methodAn electronic search was conducted on the 30 March 2020, using PsycINFO, ISI Web of Science Core Collection, Medline and EMBASE databases. Standardised effect sizes (Hedge's g) were calculated for between-participant comparisons between experimental (therapeutic intervention) and control conditions, and within-participant comparisons between pre- and post-intervention time points for repeated measures designs.
resultsTwelve studies (seven randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and five non-randomised studies) were included. For RCTs, there was a statistically significant and robust effect (g = -0.54, 95% CI -1.00 to -0.08) favouring the therapeutic intervention when treating youth depression. For non-RCTs, using a repeated measures design, the overall effect was also strong (g = -0.75, 95% CI -1.64 to 0.14) favouring therapeutic intervention, but this was not statistically significant. Interestingly, we found no statistically significant effect for treating youth anxiety.
conclusionsThere is preliminary evidence to suggest that gaming interventions are an effective treatment for youth depression, but not anxiety. Further research is warranted to establish the utility, acceptability and effectiveness of gaming interventions in treating mental health problems in young people.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.