Li Jinhui, Theng Yin-Leng, Foo Schubert
School of Journalism and Communication, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
National Media Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Front Psychol. 2020 Oct 26;11:552416. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.552416. eCollection 2020.
Subthreshold depression is a common mental disorder in late life. Increasing studies have supported the positive effects of exergames to subthreshold depression. The current study aims to investigate how play mode potentially affects exergames' effects on subthreshold depression among older adults.
A between-group experiment was carried out to compare the effect of exergames with different play modes. Fifty-two Singaporean older adults with subthreshold depression were randomly assigned into two conditions, and performed either single-player or multiple-player Nintendo Wii Tennis exergames for 6 weeks, while the key variables of depression, social support and loneliness were measured at both pre- and post-study period.
Findings from path analysis suggested that older adults in multiple-player exergames experienced lower levels of loneliness, and further more reduction on subthreshold depression, when compared to those in single-player exergames. Although social support was not affected by play mode, the significant relationship among social support, loneliness, and depression was found in the context of exergaming.
This study not only provides additional insight into a possible causal association lining play mode and health outcomes of exergames, but also opens the discussion of how to optimize antidepressive effect of exergames for older adults.
阈下抑郁是老年人常见的精神障碍。越来越多的研究支持了运动游戏对阈下抑郁的积极作用。本研究旨在探讨游戏模式如何潜在地影响运动游戏对老年人阈下抑郁的效果。
进行了一项组间实验，以比较不同游戏模式的运动游戏的效果。52名患有阈下抑郁的新加坡老年人被随机分为两组，分别进行单人或多人任天堂Wii网球运动游戏，为期6周，同时在研究前后测量抑郁、社会支持和孤独感的关键变量。
路径分析结果表明，与单人运动游戏的老年人相比，多人运动游戏的老年人孤独感水平较低，阈下抑郁程度进一步降低。虽然社会支持不受游戏模式的影响，但在运动游戏的背景下，发现社会支持、孤独感和抑郁之间存在显著关系。
本研究不仅为游戏模式与运动游戏健康结果之间可能的因果关联提供了更多见解，也开启了关于如何优化运动游戏对老年人抗抑郁效果的讨论。
