Desai Veeral, Gupta Arnav, Andersen Lucas, Ronnestrand Bailey, Wong Michael
Bachelor of Health Sciences Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
Faculty of Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada.
Trends Psychol. 2021;29(3):563-579. doi: 10.1007/s43076-021-00062-6. Epub 2021 Mar 11.
To assess the potential effectiveness of playing a simple, casual video game (Flower) in reducing stress relative to participating in a mindfulness-meditation session (body scan) among undergraduate students. Eighty undergraduate student participants (mean age = 19.46 years, = 1.43; gender: 48 females, 29 males, 3 preferred not to answer) were assigned to one of two groups in alternating order: one who played Flower and the comparison group who participated in a body scan, each lasting 20 min. Psychological and physiological stress measurements were made before and after each intervention. Self-perceived psychological stress was measured using a modified version of the nine-item Psychological Stress Measure (PSM-9), and physiological stress (heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure) was measured using an electronic blood-pressure cuff. The results were analyzed with a 2 (measurement: pre, post) × 2 (intervention: video game, mindfulness-meditation) mixed model analysis of variance (ANOVA) for each of the four outcome measures. There was a statistically significant reduction (pre- to post-intervention) across all outcome measures. Notably, there was a significant measurement × intervention interaction ( < .001) for the psychological stress measure; participants in the mindfulness-meditation group reported greater stress reduction after the intervention than participants in the video game group. Although these results suggest mindfulness-meditation provides a slight advantage for stress reduction than casual video games, the similarity in reduction across all physiological measures between the two interventions nevertheless suggests casual video games may also be an effective medium. This finding is especially promising given casual video games' accessibility, ease of use, and popularity among students. These results may inform initiatives by colleges and universities to better support students during peak times of stress and especially during the current COVID-19 pandemic.
为评估玩一款简单的休闲电子游戏（《花》）相对于本科生参加正念冥想课程（身体扫描）在减轻压力方面的潜在效果。80名本科学生参与者（平均年龄 = 19.46岁，标准差 = 1.43；性别：48名女性，29名男性，3名选择不回答）被交替分配到两个组之一：一组玩《花》，另一组为参加身体扫描的对照组，每组持续20分钟。在每次干预前后进行心理和生理压力测量。使用九项心理压力量表（PSM - 9）的修改版测量自我感知的心理压力，使用电子血压袖带测量生理压力（心率、收缩压和舒张压）。对四项结果指标中的每一项，采用2（测量：干预前、干预后）×2（干预：电子游戏、正念冥想）混合方差分析（ANOVA）对结果进行分析。所有结果指标在干预前后均有统计学上的显著降低。值得注意的是，心理压力测量存在显著的测量×干预交互作用（p <.001）；正念冥想组的参与者在干预后报告的压力减轻程度大于电子游戏组的参与者。尽管这些结果表明正念冥想在减轻压力方面比休闲电子游戏略有优势，但两种干预措施在所有生理指标上减轻程度的相似性仍表明休闲电子游戏也可能是一种有效的方式。鉴于休闲电子游戏的可及性、易用性以及在学生中的受欢迎程度，这一发现尤其有前景。这些结果可能为高校在压力高峰期，特别是在当前新冠疫情期间更好地支持学生的举措提供参考。
