ArticleInternational journal of mental health and addiction2022
Role-play Games (RPGs) for Mental Health (Why Not?): Roll for Initiative.
Article in International journal of mental health and addiction, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- D&D and You: A Reflexive Thematic Analysis of Young Adult Players' Experiences Exploring Identity and Mental Health Through Dungeons and Dragons.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Article
- Impact of Participation in Role-Playing Game (RPG) Sessions on the Perceived Level of Social Anxiety and Received Social Support.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- Can playing Dungeons and Dragons be good for you? A registered exploratory pilot programme using offline tabletop role-playing games to mitigate social anxiety and reduce problematic involvement in multiplayer online video games.Royal Society open science · 2025Article
- Mastering Your Dragons: Using Tabletop Role-Playing Games in Therapy.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- A critical hit: Dungeons and Dragons as a buff for autistic people.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2025Article
- A Scoping Review of Tabletop Role-Playing Game (TTRPG) as Psychological Intervention: Potential Benefits and Future Directions.Psychology research and behavior management · 2024Article
- Do not make me roll initiative: Assessing the Big Five characteristics of Dungeons & Dragons players in comparison to non-players.Frontiers in psychology · 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
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
COVID-19 has impacted the mental health of the general public negatively, associated with preventative measures, restricting life activities. These restrictions, such as the stay-at-home strategy, resulted in heightened stress, depression, loneliness, substance abuse, and domestic violence, violating people's occupational and personal lives. During the pandemic, the demands for role-play games (RPGs) have increased: for example, the sales of "Dungeons & Dragons" tripled, underscoring the potential mental health benefits of such games. However, research into the mental health benefits of such games remains under-developed, needing more scientific attention. Accordingly, this commentary paper reviews the existing literature, and suggests areas for application and research about RPGs and mental health including psychotherapy, career guidance, education, and people with disabilities. Insights offered can help practitioners and researchers in RPGs and mental health conduct empirical research and develop alternative approaches for mental health in stressful times.
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.