scholarly journals Stigma-Stop: A Serious Game against the Stigma toward Mental Health in Educational Settings

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adolfo J. Cangas ◽  
Noelia Navarro ◽  
José M. A. Parra ◽  
Juan J. Ojeda ◽  
Diego Cangas ◽  
...  
PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. e0260224
Author(s):  
Mandy Gijzen ◽  
Sanne Rasing ◽  
Rian van den Boogaart ◽  
Wendy Rongen ◽  
Twan van der Steen ◽  
...  

Background Stigma and limited mental health literacy impede adolescents getting the help they need for depressive symptoms. A serious game coupled with a classroom session led by lived experience workers (LEWs) might help to overcome these barriers. The school-based Strong Teens and Resilient Minds (STORM) preventive program employed this strategy and offered a serious game, Moving Stories. The current study was carried out to assess inhibiting and promoting factors for scaling up Moving Stories once its effectiveness has been ascertained. Methods Moving Stories was offered in three steps: (1) introductory classroom session, (2) students playing the game for five days, (3) debriefing classroom session led by lived experience worker. Data was collected on the number of participating students, costs of offering Moving Stories, and was further based on the notes of the debriefing sessions to check if mental health first aid (MHFA) strategies were addressed. Results Moving Stories was offered in seven high-schools. Coverage was moderate with 982 participating students out of 1880 (52%). Most participating students (83%) played the Moving Stories app three out of the five days. Qualitative data showed that the MHFAs were discussed in all debriefing sessions. Students showed great interest in lived experience workers’ stories and shared their own experiences with depression. Conclusions Bringing Moving Stories to scale in the high-school setting appears feasible, but will remain logistically somewhat challenging. Future implementation and scale-up of Moving Stories could benefit from improved selection and training of LEWs that played such an important role in grabbing the full attention of students and were able to launch frank discussions about depressive disorder and stigma in classrooms. Trial registration The study is registered in the Dutch Trial Register: Trial NL6444 (NTR6622: https://www.trialregister.nl/trial/6444).


2015 ◽  
Vol 63 ◽  
pp. 252-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Hodge ◽  
Jacqueline Davis ◽  
Neil Maiden ◽  
Bradley Mann ◽  
Aili Nidsjo ◽  
...  

Crisis ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 176-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Rasmussen ◽  
Keith Hawton ◽  
Sion Philpott-Morgan ◽  
Rory C. O'Connor

Abstract. Background: Given the high rates of self-harm among adolescents, recent research has focused on a better understanding of the motives for the behavior. Aims: The present study had three aims: to investigate (a) which motives are most frequently endorsed by adolescents who report self-harm; (b) whether motives reported at baseline predict repetition of self-harm over a 6-month period; and (c) whether self-harm motives differ between boys and girls. Method: In all, 987 school pupils aged 14–16 years completed a lifestyle and coping questionnaire at two time points 6 months apart that recorded self-harm and the associated motives. Results: The motive "to get relief from a terrible state of mind" was the most commonly endorsed reason for self-harm (in boys and girls). Interpersonal reasons (e.g., "to frighten someone") were least commonly endorsed. Regression analyses showed that adolescents who endorsed wanting to get relief from a terrible state of mind at baseline were significantly more likely to repeat self-harm at follow-up than those adolescents who did not cite this motive. Conclusion: The results highlight the complex nature of self-harm. They have implications for mental health provision in educational settings, especially in relation to encouraging regulation of emotions and help-seeking.


2022 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 201-215
Author(s):  
Fotis Lazarinis ◽  
◽  
Ioannis Boididis ◽  
Lefteris Kozanidis ◽  
Dimitris Kanellopoulos ◽  
...  

The current study presents an adaptable light game engine, which is used to produce interactive educational settings focused on cultural heritage. The tool is implemented using inexpensive and open source technologies. In this paper we first discuss the architecture of the application and we then present two games developed by using the proposed engine. The produced games are multi-user and support the collaboration and communication among learners and among learners and instructors. Learners earn marks, badges and certificates as they study the material and complete the quizzes. Various evaluation experiments have been realized to understand the suitability of the produced content in educational activities. The evaluation results of the authentic educational actions were quite positive and supportive by both students and teachers.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 1504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cangas ◽  
Navarro ◽  
Aguilar-Parra ◽  
Trigueros ◽  
Gallego ◽  
...  

Background: One of the main challenges in the field of mental health today is the stigma towards individuals who have psychological disorders. Aims: This study aims to analyse the usefulness of applying a serious game developed for the purpose of raising awareness among students about mental health problems and analyse whether its usefulness can be influenced by the type of video games or the time that students usually devote to playing with this type of entertainment. Method: The serious game introduces four characters who display the symptoms of different psychological disorders. A total of 530 students participated in the study, 412 of whom comprised the experimental group and 118 the control group, 291 came from secondary school classes and 239 were university students. Results: The findings show that this serious game significantly reduced total stigma among students. Variables like time habitually spent playing video games or video game preference had no bearing on the results. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the serious game is an appropriated tool to reduce stigma, both in high school and university students, independently of the type of video games that young people usually play, or time spent playing video games.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Cipora ◽  
Flávia H. Santos ◽  
Karin Kucian ◽  
Ann Dowker

In this paper we list ten fairly undisputed claims about Mathematics Anxiety (MA) and propose where MA research should focus on. The areas future MA research should focus on comprise (a) theoretical clarifications on what MA is, and what constitutes its opposite pole, (b) construct validity – specifically relations between self-descriptive, (neuro)physiological and cognitive measures, (c) discrepancy between state and trait MA and its theoretical and practical consequences, (d) prevalence of MA and call for establishing external criteria for estimating prevalence and proposal of such criteria, (e) exploring role of MA in different groups, e.g., highly anxious and high match performing individuals, (f) classroom applications of MA knowledge, (g) effects of MA outside educational settings, (h) consequences of MA on mental health and well-being.


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