To test the effect of a game-based intervention in reducing clinical and subclinical symptoms of children and adolescents.
The general objective of the study is to test the REThink therapeutic game for improvements in clinical and subclinical mental health symptoms in children and adolescents aged 8-16 years old from multiple schools and counties. The game will be used by children and adolescents from the experimental group for a period of four weeks. Pre-test and post-test measurements will be taken.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
279
REThink is an online therapeutic game aimed at enhancing the emotional health of young people, grounded in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). The game features a character named RETMAN, who guides players through seven levels, each focused on teaching a specific emotional regulation skill. Each level has three sub-levels that progressively increase in difficulty. REThink can be used as a standalone intervention, an adjunct to self-help psychotherapeutic approaches, or for targeted skills training.
Babes-Bolyai University
Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Mental health
Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997). The scale has 25-items within its five subscales, namely emotional symptoms (ES), conduct problems (CP), hyperactivity/inattention (HY), peer relationship (PR) problems and prosocial behavior (PS) and total mental health difficulties score (MHD). The items are rated on a 3-point Likert scale, from 0 (not true) to 2 (certainly true). The minimum score is 0 and the maximum is 40. Higher scores represent higher level of mental health difficulties.
Time frame: baseline assessment, one week prior to the intervention
Changes in mental health
Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997). The scale has 25-items within its five subscales, namely emotional symptoms (ES), conduct problems (CP), hyperactivity/inattention (HY), peer relationship (PR) problems and prosocial behavior (PS) and total mental health difficulties score (MHD). The items are rated on a 3-point Likert scale, from 0 (not true) to 2 (certainly true). The minimum score is 0 and the maximum is 40. Higher scores represent higher level of mental health difficulties.
Time frame: post-test assessment, one week after the intervention
Irrationality
The Child and Adolescent Scale of Irrationality (CASI, Bernard \& Cronan, 1999) will be used in order to test irrational/rational beliefs as a mechanism of change. Children and adolescents were asked to express their agreement/disagreement with the 28 statements on a 5-point Likert-type scale, from 1 ("strong disagreement") to 5 ("strong agreement"). The minimum score is 28 and the maximum score is 140. Higher scores represent higher levels of irrationality.
Time frame: baseline assessment, one week prior to the intervention
Changes in irrationality
The Child and Adolescent Scale of Irrationality (CASI, Bernard \& Cronan, 1999) will be used in order to test irrational/rational beliefs as a mechanism of change. Children and adolescents were asked to express their agreement/disagreement with the 28 statements on a 5-point Likert-type scale, from 1 ("strong disagreement") to 5 ("strong agreement"). Higher scores represent higher levels of irrationality.
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Time frame: post-test assessment, one week after the intervention