8 343 GENERAL DISCUSSION already expensive to design, future research should prioritise incorporating a transdiagnostic approach in games used to improve mental health. CONCLUSION In the current thesis we examined the potential of applied and casual games for improving mental health in youth, and investigated the influence of nonspecific (motivational) factors on game selection, game experiences, engagement, and mental health outcomes. Our state-of-the-art overview of the field showed the potential of both applied and casual games to alleviate (sub)clinical symptoms of various mental health issues among youth. Noteworthy is that many of the digital games proved as effective as traditional, expert-led clinical gold standard programs. Our research on the applied game MindLight demonstrated its effectiveness in reducing anxiety symptoms, internalising and externalising problems, and improving self-efficacy. Nonspecific factors did not serve as predictors of effectiveness, nor did they influence game experiences and engagement. Our experimental study on (nonspecific) motivational factors compellingly showed that explicitly promoting a video game for mental health by means of an appealing trailer design is attractive for youth with mental health symptoms, even those less inclined to seek professional help. Nonspecific factors did not influence the likelihood of selecting a mental health game nor engagement with it. Still, we argue that more research is needed to assess the strength of evidence regarding nonspecific factors as well as to assess possible nuanced effects across different age groups, demographic and other individual differences. When examining motivational factors and the selection of mental health games, we recommend that future research also considers naturalistic gameplay and the complexity of the media choices made by youth on a daily basis. Taken together, the current thesis demonstrates that digital interventions are a viable alternative to traditional intervention approaches, offering a potential solution to the escalating mental health problems of youth, the growing demand for mental health services, and the social and practical access barriers related to conventional approaches. Our research further showed that video games designed to improve mental health can be positioned and promoted as such, leveraging their motivational and engaging potential to effectively reach and benefit individuals with mental health symptoms.
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