Playing Video Games May Lower Depression Symptoms
Depression is a mood disorder that currently affects approximately one in every four American adults a year. Individuals with depression can experience symptoms such as constant feeling of sadness, suicidal thoughts and tendencies; these symptoms are felt at different intensities according to an individual’s level of depression. Subthreshold or mild depression, where individuals show some signs of depression, can quickly turn into major depression, a condition that significantly burdens one’s daily life. The National Institute of Mental Health Disorders states that the average age at onset for major depression is in one’s mid-20s.
According to the Entertainment Software Association, approximately 40% of individuals globally play video games, of which includes 70% of the US population. Gaming demographics also show that individuals aged 18-34 make up the largest group of video game players in the US. Due to the large portion of individuals who regularly engage in video games, researchers at the Center for Brain and Mental Wellbeing at Sun Yat-sen University found that playing music-based video games could alleviate depression, stress, and anxiety symptoms in individuals with mild depression. Music-based video games are convenient and do not require the knowledge, skills, or time commitment that can be necessary for other genres such as action video games. This study consisted of 56 individuals aged from 18-26, with subthreshold or mild depression as according to the Beck Depression Inventory system.
According to the Entertainment Software Association, approximately 40% of individuals globally play video games, of which includes 70% of the US population. Gaming demographics also show that individuals aged 18-34 make up the largest group of video game players in the US. Due to the large portion of individuals who regularly engage in video games, researchers at the Center for Brain and Mental Wellbeing at Sun Yat-sen University found that playing music-based video games could alleviate depression, stress, and anxiety symptoms in individuals with mild depression. Music-based video games are convenient and do not require the knowledge, skills, or time commitment that can be necessary for other genres such as action video games. This study consisted of 56 individuals aged from 18-26, with subthreshold or mild depression as according to the Beck Depression Inventory system.
Games containing background music can serve as a relaxing activity that can be incorporated into one’s daily routine in order to lessen depression symptoms.
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Before the intervention began, both groups underwent the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) assessment, which provided quantitative values for levels of stress, depression, and anxiety for each participant. This assessment was conducted again after the intervention, which went on for four weeks. Here, the control group continued on with their everyday tasks, while the experimental group performed their everyday tasks alongside a supplemental music-based casual video game training for 20 minutes, five times a week.
Participants’ DASS-21 scores were calculated again during and after the intervention, and the results showed that scores of the experimental group gradually decreased as the music-based video game training continued on. While this was the case, those in the control group did not see a change in their scores. A lower score signifies lower levels of depression/stress/anxiety, so while the experimental group’s scores lowered each week from approximately 41.46 to 32.60, the control group’s scores did not lower significantly, going from 42.22 to 40.36. Therefore, it can be concluded that there may be a correlation between playing music based video games and the lowering of depression, stress, and anxiety symptoms.
Although this is the case, some limitations of this study include the extremely small population of participants and the lack of diversity in the sample, which only included individuals that had not played video games for over 5 hours in the past 2 weeks before conduction of the study, meaning it may not be representative of individuals with mild depression. Future studies should focus on a more representative and larger group of participants in order to further identify how playing video games may alleviate symptoms of individuals with mild depression who are at risk of major depression.
Participants’ DASS-21 scores were calculated again during and after the intervention, and the results showed that scores of the experimental group gradually decreased as the music-based video game training continued on. While this was the case, those in the control group did not see a change in their scores. A lower score signifies lower levels of depression/stress/anxiety, so while the experimental group’s scores lowered each week from approximately 41.46 to 32.60, the control group’s scores did not lower significantly, going from 42.22 to 40.36. Therefore, it can be concluded that there may be a correlation between playing music based video games and the lowering of depression, stress, and anxiety symptoms.
Although this is the case, some limitations of this study include the extremely small population of participants and the lack of diversity in the sample, which only included individuals that had not played video games for over 5 hours in the past 2 weeks before conduction of the study, meaning it may not be representative of individuals with mild depression. Future studies should focus on a more representative and larger group of participants in order to further identify how playing video games may alleviate symptoms of individuals with mild depression who are at risk of major depression.
Featured Image Source: RDNE Stock project
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