Aniek Wols

323 7 MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS IN A MENTAL HEALTH GAME Notwithstanding the aforementioned limitations and remaining questions for future research, the current study has implications for the prevention of mental health symptoms and promotion of mental health. Results showed that pitching a game as beneficial for one’s mental health does not deter individuals from playing it. In fact, 3 out of 5 participants preferred to play a game promoted as a mental health game over a game promoted as a regular entertainment game, regardless of their motivation to change and mindsets. These findings support the notion that video games can be a motivating and engaging approach to reach individuals with mental health symptoms, and that video games aiming to improve mental health can be promoted as a mental health game. In addition, the current study showed that pitching a game as beneficial for one’s mental health can lead to changes in people’s mindset about the effects and nature of stress. Considering the adverse effects of a stress-is-debilitating mindset for mental health and well-being, this finding is promising. Taken together, this study indicates that video games aiming to improve mental health may benefit from promoting the game for its mental health benefits.

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