REThinkWELL- the Use of Therapeutic Game to Reduce Mental Health Symptoms in Children and Adolescents

NCT06529510 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: REThinkWELL
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 279
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

To test the effect of a game-based intervention in reducing clinical and subclinical symptoms of children and adolescents.

Conditions

Emotional Problem; Mental Health Issue

Keywords

online therapeutic game; game-based CBT; emotional problems; mental health; children and adolescents

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• 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.

  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.

  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.

  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.

  post-test assessment, one week after the intervention

Study Arms (2)

REThink game

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this group will have access to the REThink therapeutic game for four weeks

Behavioral: REThink therpeutic game

Care as usual

NO INTERVENTION

Participants in the control group do not receive an intervention but they have access to standard resources from the school

Interventions

REThink therpeutic game BEHAVIORAL

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.

REThink game

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 8 Years - 16 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• children and adolescents aged 8 to 16 years
• subclinical level on the SDQ measure, total score, or emotional symptoms
• parental consent provided

You may not qualify if:

• intellectual disability or physical limitations precluding the use of the online game
• does not have parental informed consent

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Babes-Bolyai University: lead
• The Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Babes-Bolyai University

Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Psychological Well-Being

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Personal Satisfaction; Behavior

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 24, 2024
• First Posted: July 31, 2024
• Study Start: May 20, 2021
• Primary Completion: July 31, 2022
• Study Completion: August 30, 2022
• Last Updated: July 31, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

RO (1)