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Recruiting NCT05923944

Video Game Play to Alleviate Adolescent Anxiety

No phase Interventional Anxiety Anxiety Disorders and Symptoms

For patients and families

In plain language

An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.

What is being studied
The protocol lists: Eco-Rescue, Bejelewed 3.
Who it may be relevant to
Registry conditions: Anxiety, Anxiety Disorders and Symptoms. Basic parameters: 11 years — 15 years · All.
What needs checking
Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
Where it takes place
Israel, Switzerland
Next step
Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →

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Official title

Evaluating the Effect of Gamified Cognitive Training and of Casual Videogame Play on Anxiety in Adolescents: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Overview

Adolescence is a critical period for the onset and maintenance of anxiety disorders, which raises the importance of intervening early; one possibility of doing so is via digital interventions. At least two lines of research have been explored in the past years in this area. First, studies have tested the anxiolytic effects of casual video games, hypothesizing that, through the induction of flow, these games can effectively distract individuals from anxiety-related thoughts and feelings. Second, the bidirectional link between poor attentional control and higher anxiety has led to the design of novel interventions aiming to improve attentional control such as working memory training studies. Importantly, action video games, classified as a distinct gaming genre, have been shown to enhance attentional control. In this study, we aim to compare the effects of action video game play and casual game play to a no-training group, assessing their potential to alleviate anxiety when delivered entirely online. The goal of this three- arms randomized controlled trial is to evaluate the feasibility of a 6-week video game training intervention to reduce adolescent anxiety-related symptoms. We will also examine the efficacy of the proposed treatment when entirely deployed at adolescents' home.

Interventions

  • Behavioral Eco-Rescue
    Ecorescue is a gamified adaptation of the multiple object tracking task (MOT) combined with a detection task. It requires to track the spatial position of specific moving targets among visually similar moving distractors, while at the same time detecting briefly flashed events. It was designed to load on attentional control and visuo-spatial working memory. Additionally, targets may express various facial emotions (happy, angry or neutral) requiring some emotional control in addition to attentio
  • Behavioral Bejelewed 3
    Bejeweled 3 is a commercially available puzzle video game developed and edited by PopCap Games. The main objective is to swap two adjacent gems of seven colors to create a line or row of 3 or more gems of the same type. When these gems are aligned, they disappear, and points are earned. The goal is to get as many points as possible until it is impossible to line up gems. Bejeweled 3 offers a variety of game modes that players can freely explore at their own pace, enhancing the overall enjoyment

Primary outcome measures

  • Anxiety assessed through the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders Child Version (SCARED-C; Birmaher et al. 1999) [Time frame: Change from baseline (T1) at 1 week after training completion (T2), and at 4 months after training completion (T3)]
Secondary outcome measures (4)
  • Attentional Control assessed through the Useful Field of View Task (UFOV; Yung et al., 2015) [Time frame: Change from baseline (T1) at 1 week after training completion (T2), and at 4 months after training completion (T3)]
  • Attentional Control assessed through an adaptation of the Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA) as implemented in the ACE-X battery (Mars-UFO and Venus-UFO; https://neuroscape.ucsf.edu/researchers-ace/) [Time frame: Change from baseline (T1) at 1 week after training completion (T2), and at 4 months after training completion (T3)]
  • Attentional Control assessed through the Multiple Objects Tracking Task (MOT; Yung et al., 2015) [Time frame: Change from baseline (T1) at 1 week after training completion (T2), and at 4 months after training completion (T3)]
  • Affective Control assessed through the Affective Backward Digit Span Task (ABDS; modified version of Schweizer et al. 2019) [Time frame: Change from baseline (T1) at 1 week after training completion (T2), and at 4 months after training completion (T3)]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

  • Adolescents aged 11-15 years
  • High-anxious score from the 41 items SCARED-Parent version (i.e. total score equal or above 17)
  • Access to a computer (at least Windows 7 or Mac OSX) at home and a reliable internet connection

Exclusion criteria

  • DSM diagnoses of Bipolar, Psychosis, Autism Spectrum Disorder, present or past.
  • Neurological injury (i.e. head injury)
  • Currently enrolled in another cognitive training intervention

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: Yes

Study design

Allocation
Randomized
Model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double blind
Primary purpose
Basic science

Study locations

Israel · 1 center
  • University of Haifa — Haifa
Switzerland · 1 center
  • University of Geneva — Geneva

Publications

  • Behrens B, Swetlitz C, Pine DS, Pagliaccio D. The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED): Informant Discrepancy, Measurement Invariance, and Test-Retest Reliability. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2019 Jun;50(3):473-482. doi: 10.1007/s10578-018-0854-0. PMID 30460424
  • Yung A, Cardoso-Leite P, Dale G, Bavelier D, Green CS. Methods to test visual attention online. J Vis Exp. 2015 Feb 19;(96):10.3791/52470. doi: 10.3791/52470. PMID 25741746
  • Schweizer S, Leung JT, Kievit R, Speekenbrink M, Trender W, Hampshire A, Blakemore SJ. Protocol for an app-based affective control training for adolescents: proof-of-principle double-blind randomized controlled trial. Wellcome Open Res. 2019 Oct 2;4:91. doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15229.2. eCollection 2019. PMID 31289755
  • Pylyshyn ZW, Storm RW. Tracking multiple independent targets: evidence for a parallel tracking mechanism. Spat Vis. 1988;3(3):179-97. doi: 10.1163/156856888x00122. PMID 3153671
  • Russoniello CV, O'Brien K, Parks JM. EEG, HRV and Psychological Correlates while Playing Bejeweled II: A Randomized Controlled Study. Stud Health Technol Inform. 2009;144:189-92. PMID 19592761
  • Russoniello CV, Fish M, O'Brien K. The Efficacy of Casual Videogame Play in Reducing Clinical Depression: A Randomized Controlled Study. Games Health J. 2013 Dec;2(6):341-6. doi: 10.1089/g4h.2013.0010. Epub 2013 Nov 8. PMID 26197075
  • Derryberry D, Reed MA. Anxiety-related attentional biases and their regulation by attentional control. J Abnorm Psychol. 2002 May;111(2):225-36. doi: 10.1037//0021-843x.111.2.225. PMID 12003445
  • Kroenke K, Strine TW, Spitzer RL, Williams JB, Berry JT, Mokdad AH. The PHQ-8 as a measure of current depression in the general population. J Affect Disord. 2009 Apr;114(1-3):163-73. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2008.06.026. Epub 2008 Aug 27. PMID 18752852

Identifiers

NCT: NCT05923944 · 10001C_212812

Primary sources (government registries)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗