Being somebody who is diagnosed as having and being treated for depression and other mental illness, it's interesting to read something like this (source:GamePress.com) detailing a study that casual games can reduce clinical depression and anxiety. It is interesting though that whereas the casual games can help a bit with psychological disorders, that there is a lack of mention of ADD and OSD, which can turn the therapeutic affects of the casual game into a kind of addiction that can also affect the mental health of a person. Sort of punches holes in the argument of people who don't believe in mental illness, saying it's somebody trying to call attention to themselves. *Disclaimer* the study was underwritten by PopCap Games, makers of casual games mentioned in the study. But they may have a case, those games are challenging yet relaxing.. I don't have a PHD, I dunno!
First-of-Its-Kind Clinical Study by East Carolina University Establishes
Efficacy of Bejeweled® and Other Games in Reducing Clinical Depression and Anxiety
February
16 ,
2011 —
East Carolina University’s Psychophysiology Lab and Biofeedback Clinic
today revealed the results of a year-long randomized, controlled
clinical study that measured the efficacy of so-called “casual” video
games (CVGs)
in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety as a co-morbid condition.
Nearly 60 subjects, half of whom served as controls, all meeting the
criteria of clinical depression, participated in the study, which
involved three family-friendly, non-violent puzzle games:
Bejeweled 2®,
Peggle® and
Bookworm® Adventures.
(All of the games are made by PopCap Games,
underwriter of the study.) The hypothesis was tested using
state-of-the-art technologies including psychophysiology, biochemical
and psychological measurements, and found an average reduction in
depression symptoms of 57% in the experimental (“video game”)
group. The study, the first such research ever to measure the efficacy
of video games in reducing depression and anxiety, also found
significant reduction in anxiety, as well as improvements in all aspects
of mood, among study subjects who played the casual video games.
“The results of this study clearly demonstrate the intrinsic value of
certain casual games in terms of significant, positive effects on the
moods and anxiety levels of people suffering from any level of
depression,” stated Dr. Carmen Russoniello, Director
of the Psychophysiology Lab and Biofeedback Clinic at ECU and
the professor who oversaw the study (as well as previous studies
involving the same games' effects on stress levels). “In my opinion the
findings support the possibility of using prescribed casual video games
for treating depression and anxiety as an adjunct to, or perhaps even a
replacement for, standard therapies including medication. Remarkably,
these games had both short term (after 30 minutes of game play) and long
term (after one month) effects when compared to the control
group. Equally important, the data supports the hypothesis that casual
video games contain intrinsic qualities that, when played, provoke
physiological and biochemical changes consistent with positive changes
in mood and anxiety.”
According to the National Institute of
Mental Health in the United States an
estimated 20.9 million American adults (9.5% of the U.S. population age
18 or older) suffers from a mood disorder, and more than two thirds of
those (14.8 million U.S. adults) are cases of major depression.
Depression is the leading cause of disability in the U.S. for people
aged 15 to 44. Depressive disorders often co-occur with anxiety
disorders, and approximately 40 million American adults (about 18
percent of all U.S. adults) have an anxiety disorder.
Findings
Results indicate that there was a 57% average decrease in depression
symptoms among participants in the experimental group and this was
statistically significant when compared to the control group. The
video game group saw significant reductions in depression across the
board, with all seven subjects previously classified as suffering from
moderate to severe depression moving to the minor or minimal depression
categories. At the same time, the number of subjects classified as
having minor depression dropped from nine to four.
Methodology
The study hypothesis, methodology and
logistical plan were developed between July 2009 and August 2010, and
the clinical state of the study was conducted between August 2010 and
November 2010 and included a total of 59 subjects.
Twenty-nine participants served as controls surfing the National
Institutes of Mental Health’s Web page on depression. The experimental
group consisted of 30 participants with 18 choosing to play
Bejeweled 2; seven
participants choosing to play Peggle
and five participants choosing to play
Bookworm Adventures (BWA). There were 30
females and 29 males in the study. Participants ranged in age from 18 to
74 with average age calculated at 30. Sixty-five percent of the
participants were European-Americans; twenty three percent were African
Americans, 3.3% Hispanic Americans, 1.6 % Asian Americans and 3.3%
other. Sixty-three percent were gamers and 31% were not. Twenty-three
percent were on anti-depressant medications and 73 % were not.
“Compliance was not an issue in this study with all participants meeting minimum playing time requirements and there were no side effects reported in the month long study. Given that only 25% of people who suffer from depression are receiving treatment, it seems prudent to make these low cost, readily accessible casual games video games available to those who need them. They should be made available at health clinics, community centers, online 'medical sites' and given out by therapists as a means of intervention.”
(Amazon.com does not endorse the findings nor is it involved in any way with the CVG study)
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