2 109 REVIEW OF APPLIED & CASUAL GAMES FOR MENTAL HEALTH Paper Country Target group N % male Age, mean (SD) Age range Intervention arms Intervention characteristics Assessments Variables measured Findings relevant for current review Urben et al. 2012 Switzerland Adolescents with psychosis or at high risk for psychosis 32*c 63.6 15.55 (1.30) 13-17 years 1. Computer-assisted cognitive remediation (CACR); selection of tasks from Captain’s Log R software. 2. Computer games. 1. Sixteen 45-minute individual sessions, with a frequency of two sessions per week for 8 weeks, guided by a research psychologist. 2. A set of 13 various videogames that require attention and visuo-motor skills was offered to patients, with two half-hour sessions weekly for 8 weeks. Pre, post*** and 4-months FU (i.e., 6 months post-baseline). Cognitive measures: processing speed, working memory, episodic (long-term) memory, executive functioning (inhibition and initiation), reasoning and planning abilities, symptoms; time spent training/playing. Significant improvements in inhibition and reasoning, in the CACR group. No improvements in cognitive abilities in the control group. Symptom severity decreased significantly in the control group and marginally in the CACR group. Notes: Intervention arms and variables measured in bold are included in the forest plot. All studies used a regular randomised controlled trial (RCT) design. FU = follow-up; NA = not available and/or could not be obtained; TAU = treatment as usual. * Gender and mean age are reported for included/analysed participants (and not for the total randomised participants), with a n=86, b n=32, c n=22. ** Results reported in Urben, 2012. *** Results reported in Holzer et al., 2014.
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