The Evaluation of a School Climate Videogame Intervention

NCT04025294 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 2000026033
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 100
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

A randomized control trial of a videogame intervention to assess and improve school climate.

Conditions

Cognitive Reappraisal; Self Efficacy

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (6)

• Measuring self-efficacy at baseline

  Participants will complete a pre-survey through a secured, data collection website (Qualtrics), before playing the videogame. Items from the general self-efficacy questionnaire will assess participants' self-efficacy at baseline. This scale uses a 5-point Likert response scale (1=Never, 2=Almost Never, 3=Sometimes, 4=Fairly Often, 5=Very Often). Total self-efficacy score ranges from 10-50.

  baseline

• Change in self-efficacy from baseline

  Participants will complete a post-survey through a secured, data collection website (Qualtrics), immediately after playing the videogame. Items from the general self-efficacy questionnaire will assess participants' self-efficacy at baseline. This scale uses a 5-point Likert response scale (1=Never, 2=Almost Never, 3=Sometimes, 4=Fairly Often, 5=Very Often). Total self-efficacy score ranges from 10-50.

  immediately after playing the videogame

• Measuring emotional self-efficacy at baseline

  Participants will complete a pre-survey through a secured, data collection website (Qualtrics), at baseline. Items from the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children (SEQ-C) will assess participants' emotional self-efficacy immediately before playing the game. Each of the 6 items used in the study has to be scored on a 5-point scale with 1 = not at all and 5 = very well.

  baseline

• Change in emotional self-efficacy from baseline

  Participants will complete a post-survey through a secured, data collection website (Qualtrics), at baseline. Items from the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children (SEQ-C) will assess participants' emotional self-efficacy immediately after playing the game. Each of the 6 items used in the study has to be scored on a 5-point scale with 1 = not at all and 5 = very well.

  immediately after playing the videogame

• Cognitive reappraisal scores at baseline

  Participants will complete a pre-survey through a secured, data collection website (Qualtrics), at baseline. The ERQ-CA includes 6 items assessing participants' cognitive appraisal. The scale length ranges up to five points with the following options: 1) strongly disagree; 2) disagree, 3) half and half, 4) agree, 5) strongly agree. The range of scores for each scale was 6 to 30.

  at baseline

• Cognitive reappraisal scores at baseline

  Participants will complete a post-survey through a secured, data collection website (Qualtrics), immediately after playing the videogame. Items from the Emotional Regulation Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (ERQ-CA) will assess participants' cognitive reappraisal immediately after playing the tool/game. The ERQ-CA includes 6 items assessing participants' cognitive appraisal. The scale length ranges up to five points with the following options: 1) strongly disagree; 2) disagree, 3) half and half, 4) agree, 5) strongly agree. The range of scores for each scale was 6 to 30.

  immediately after playing the videogame

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Gameplay post-assessment

  immediately after playing the game

• School Climate

  Baseline

Study Arms (2)

Students playing videogame

EXPERIMENTAL

The experimental group will consist of our videogame intervention including the five mini-games.

Device: videogame

Students receiving school climate assessment

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The control group differs from the experimental group as it includes the school climate assessment tool but excludes the mini-games

Behavioral: School Climate Assessment Survey

Interventions

videogame DEVICE

A videogame intervention that is interactive and engaging that teaches adolescents how to restructure negative automatic thoughts through an adapted thought record (a technique used in cognitive behavioral therapy to improve moods) by modeling how to do so and then empower them through real-life activities to improve their school climate. The videogame intervention is comprised of five mini-games, each containing a short narrative that models how to restructure negative automatic thoughts and navigate through challenging situations that often take place in school settings. The topics of each mini-game are informed by the constructs of school climate according to the National School Climate Center. Students using the videogame intervention will be prompted to think deeply and reflect on the narratives presented in each mini-game.

Students playing videogame

School Climate Assessment Survey BEHAVIORAL

A school climate assessment survey will include items adapted from questions developed by the National School Climate Center. Items will assess various dimensions of school climate including safety, social media, relationships, support for learning, and environment.

Students receiving school climate assessment

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 14 Years - 19 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Must be a current high school student
• English-speaking
• Willing to provide minor assent
• Willing to provide parental consent (if under 18 years old)
• Willing to play/use the game/tool for about 45 minutes to 1 hour after school
• Willing to answer questions about their experiences in playing the game, questions around school climate, and questions around self-efficacy on an iPad for about 30 minutes
• Willing to participate in an optional focus group for about 30 minutes

You may not qualify if:

• Those that do not meet the criteria above

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Yale University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Yale Center for Health & Learning Games

New Haven, Connecticut, 06510, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Fernandes CF, Deng Y, Tran AH, Hieftje KD, Boomer TMP, Taylor CK, Fiellin LE. A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate a Cognitive Behavioral Videogame Intervention: empowerED. Games Health J. 2023 Feb;12(1):42-52. doi: 10.1089/g4h.2021.0118. Epub 2022 Nov 8.

  PMID: 36350349 DERIVED

Study Officials

• Lynn E Fiellin, MD

  Yale University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 16, 2019
• First Posted: July 18, 2019
• Study Start: October 1, 2019
• Primary Completion: December 30, 2020
• Study Completion: December 30, 2020
• Last Updated: March 3, 2021

Record last verified: 2021-03

Locations

US (1)