Serious Video Games and Psychological Support: A Depression Intervention among Young Cancer Patients (Preprint)
UNSTRUCTURED Depression, coupled with a cancer diagnosis in early childhood, often leads toward disinclination to psychotherapy, especially in children. However, an effective remedy could be found in video games that could reduce the depressive condition. The study investigates the efficacy of therapy embedded games (3D-GIT) against the simple mental health games (Re-Mission-II) in reducing depressive symptoms associated with a cancer diagnosis. The sample comprised of 60 cancer patients randomly selected from different cancer hospitals in Pakistan. All the patients were pre-tested using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC). The sample was randomly divided into two equal groups: one group played the 3D-GIT game, and the other played the Re-Mission-II game. The games were played four times a week for a month. All the patients were then re-tested on the same scale. Pre-test and post-test scores were compared through paired t-test analysis. Findings of the study supported the first two hypotheses that 3D-GIT and Re-Mission-2 are effective in reducing the depressive symptoms among young cancer patients. The study results revealed that these video games could be used as an alternative treatment of depression for those who are not willing to go for counseling sessions with clinical psychologists. However, the results revealed an insignificant difference between 3D-GIT and Remission-II games, suggesting that both games effectively reduce depressive symptoms of cancer patients. The study results can be used to apply the 3D-GIT game and the Remission-II game to treat depression among cancer patients.