25 1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION motivate players to persist in playing, even in the face of failures. Games serve as a platform for cultivating perseverance, which involves exerting continuous effort towards achieving a goal despite encountering difficulties or setbacks (Malone & Lepper, 2021). Individuals persevering in the face of failure are more likely to have a growth mindset (Dweck, 2017b), suggesting that games may boost one’s growth mindset (Weerdmeester et al., 2020). Therefore, in this dissertation, we also examined the influence of gameplay on changes in one’s mindset. THE CURRENT THESIS Overall, this dissertation aims to examine the potential of applied and casual games as a possible alternative delivery approach of traditional intervention programs for mental health, and to investigate the effects of nonspecific (motivational) factors on game selection, game experiences, engagement, and mental health outcomes. This dissertation is divided into three parts. Part 1 of my dissertation aims to provide a state-of-the-art overview of the field. In Chapter 2, we performed a systematic review of randomised controlled studies that have assessed digital games for improving mental health in children, adolescents and young adults and examined the effectiveness of both applied and casual games. Thus far, previous reviews and meta-analyses focused on either applied or casual games exclusively, on very specific mental health domains, on clinical populations only, and/or they did not include multimodal interventions (i.e., using a digital game in addition to other therapy components). In order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of games on mental health outcomes and to examine when games are most effective, we evaluated applied and casual games simultaneously, included and distinguished between both clinical and healthy populations, and compared the effectiveness of these games across a variety of mental health domains, including internalising, externalising, neurodevelopmental, psychotic and personality-related outcomes. Moreover, we examined methodological characteristics to explore current research trends and whether nonspecific factors have been taken into account. To maximise the effectiveness of applied games to their fullest potential, it is essential to explore and leverage the advantages offered by nonspecific factors. Literature on applied games has largely overlooked nonspecific factors, and their impacts on engagement and mental health outcomes in this context are unknown. To address this significant gap in the literature, Part 2 of my
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