Bodner Ehud, Segev Adi, Chernitsky Roberto, Barak Yoram
Department of Social and Health Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
Kioku Studio, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Games Health J. 2024 Dec;13(6):428-435. doi: 10.1089/g4h.2023.0130. Epub 2024 May 29.
Playing together increases social connectedness, and it may be a tool to reduce loneliness. Research into the mental health benefits of board games is underdeveloped. The study aims to examine the effects of the Kioku board game on well-being outcomes. The Kioku board game was developed in order to enable small group interactions with a focus on encouraging participants to create stories through mutual attention and interaction. We hypothesized that following a weekly intervention for 12 weeks, players would report a decrease in loneliness and an increase in well-being, compared with nonplayers. During the summer of 2022, participants in groups of 4-5 players, chose a cube word and narrated a story. A sample of 151 older adults (Mean age 75.05 ± 6.46 years) recruited from seven community activity centers in Israel was assigned by block randomization to an intervention ( = 72) or a control group ( = 79), awaiting 4-6 weeks for future participation. Loneliness (UCLA loneliness scale) and well-being (World Health Organization 5-item scale) were evaluated at baseline and at 12 weeks. A two-way repeated measures analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) (Group × Time) controlling for age, country of origin, and marital status revealed significant interaction effects for loneliness [(1, 146) = 178.04, = 0.549, ] and well-being [(1, 146) = 69.14, = 0.321, ]. Loneliness decreased in the intervention group (mean difference: 0.62 points, ), and increased in the control group (mean difference: 0.18 points, = 0.001). Well-being increased in the intervention group (mean difference: 0.79 points, ) and decreased in the control group (mean difference: 0.20 points, ). Our findings support the effectiveness of the Kioku board game intervention for decreasing loneliness and promoting well-being in older adults, who might still be coping with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
一起玩耍能增强社会联系，它可能是一种减少孤独感的工具。关于棋盘游戏对心理健康益处的研究尚不完善。本研究旨在探讨记忆棋盘游戏对幸福指标的影响。记忆棋盘游戏的开发目的是促进小群体互动，重点是鼓励参与者通过相互关注和互动来创作故事。我们假设，在进行为期12周的每周一次干预后，与未参与者相比，参与者的孤独感会降低，幸福感会增强。2022年夏天，4至5名玩家一组的参与者选择一个立方体单词并讲述一个故事。从以色列七个社区活动中心招募了151名老年人（平均年龄75.05±6.46岁），通过区组随机化将其分配到干预组（n = 72）或对照组（n = 79），等待4至6周后参与后续研究。在基线和第12周时评估孤独感（加州大学洛杉矶分校孤独量表）和幸福感（世界卫生组织五项量表）。一项控制年龄、原籍国和婚姻状况的双向重复测量协方差分析（ANCOVA）（组×时间）显示，孤独感存在显著交互作用[F(1, 146) = 178.04, p = 0.549, η² = 0.321]，幸福感也存在显著交互作用[F(1, 146) = 69.14, p = 0.321, η² = 0.178]。干预组的孤独感降低（平均差异：0.62分，p < 0.001），对照组的孤独感增加（平均差异：0.18分，p = 0.001）。干预组的幸福感增加（平均差异：0.79分，p < 0.001），对照组的幸福感降低（平均差异：0.20分，p < 0.001）。我们的研究结果支持了记忆棋盘游戏干预在降低老年人孤独感和促进幸福感方面的有效性，这些老年人可能仍在应对新冠疫情的影响。
