Minigames for Mental Health: Improving Warfighters' Coping Skills and Awareness of Mental Health Resources

publication

Author: 

Katelyn Procci
Clint Bowers
Christopher Wong
Anya Andrews

Citation: 

Procci, K., Bowers, C., Wong, C., & Andrews, A. (2013).Minigames for mental health: Improving warfighters’ coping skills and awareness of mental health resources. Games For Health Journals. 2(4), 240-246.

DOI: 10.1089/g4h.2013.0014.

Abstract: 

Providing resources and stress management techniques is vital to the improvement of mental health outcomes of deploying warfighters. Despite the large amount of resources available, they are largely ineffective owing in part to lack of familiarity and knowledge of the resources themselves. This may be ameliorated through game-based practice environments. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a serious game to teach deploying military personnel about available mental health resources and coping skills, as well as to determine whether the inclusion of minigames improved learning outcomes.

Keywords: 

  • coping
  • mental health
  • military personnel
  • minigames
  • resources
  • therapy
  • walk in my shoes
  • warfighters

Health Topic: 

  • Mental Health

Target Population: 

  • College Students
  • Graduate Students

Game Platform: 

  • Computer
  • Internet
  • Game Console

Publication Type: 

  • Journal Article

Partners

  • HopeLab
  • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
  • SAGE Publishing
  • UNICEF Kid Power