Data Modeling
Mathematical and Computational Data Modeling | Online ISSN 3143-9217
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Volume 3 Number 1 2022
REVIEWS (Open Access)
Applied Games as a Treatment Approach for Children's Mental Health Problems
Md. Iqbal Hossan 1*, Md. Serajul Kabir Chowdhury Rubel 1, Md. Arifur Rahman 2,
Data Modeling 3 (1) 1-8 https://doi.org/10.25163/data.3110935
Submitted: 22 October 2022 Revised: 08 December 2022 Accepted: 18 December 2022 Published: 20 December 2022
Abstract
Childhood mental health problems often go unrecognized and untreated, particularly in low-resource settings such as Bangladesh, where limited awareness, delayed diagnosis, and scarce treatment facilities leave many children without care. Applied (serious) games have emerged as a potentially scalable, engaging alternative or adjunct to conventional clinical treatment. We conducted a systematic literature search, primarily through Google Scholar, covering studies published between 2012 and 2022 using search terms related to children's mental health and game-based treatment. Records were screened against pre-defined eligibility criteria requiring randomized designs, child or adolescent participants, a technology-based game intervention, and peer-reviewed publication; 209 records were identified, and 35 studies met inclusion criteria following full-text review. Included studies covered biofeedback games, cognitive-training games, exergames, virtual reality (VR) interventions, and narrative-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) games targeting anxiety, depression, ADHD, autism spectrum symptoms, and post-traumatic stress. Depression-focused interventions, particularly SPARX, showed the most consistent and clinically meaningful effects, while anxiety-focused games generally produced small-to-medium pre-post effects that did not always exceed non-therapeutic comparison games. VR interventions showed modest within-group improvements but did not statistically outperform waiting-list controls. Applied games appear to be a feasible and, for some conditions, effective treatment avenue for children's mental health problems, though the evidence base remains limited by small trial sizes and inconsistent reporting. Larger, independent randomized controlled trials are needed before applied games can be confidently positioned alongside conventional clinical treatment.
Keywords: Applied games; Serious games; Children's mental health; Anxiety; Depression; Digital intervention; Virtual reality.
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