Martín-Ávila Javier, Rodríguez-Jiménez Esther, Valero-Moreno Selene, Gil-Gómez José-Antonio, Montoya-Castilla Inmaculada, Pérez-Marín Marián
Departamento de Personalidad, Evaluación y Tratamientos Psicológicos, Facultad de Psicología y Logopedia, Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain.
Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Automática e Informática Industrial, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain.
PLoS One. 2025 Jun 23;20(6):e0325763. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0325763. eCollection 2025.
During adolescence, individuals face various challenges that require adequate psychosocial and emotional adjustment. Additionally, the presence of a chronic illness during this stage, such as Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM), introduces additional medical and psychological needs, which can increase vulnerability. In this context, serious games emerge as a promising tool to address educational and psychoemotional aspects while maintaining the motivation and playability typical of a video game. Currently, no technological tool simultaneously addresses both the educational and psycho-emotional needs of adolescents with T1DM.
This study aims to design and validate a psychological intervention program using a technological platform that incorporates artificial intelligence. Through the serious game emoTICare, the goal is to promote physical and emotional health in adolescents with T1DM by enhancing the development of socio-emotional skills.
Test this tool, adolescents with T1DM will be recruited through diabetes associations across Spain. The participants, 372 adolescents aged between 12 and 16, will be randomly assigned to either a control or an experimental group. The experimental group will complete the emoTICare program. Over six weeks, participants will engage in psychoeducational activities using the tools provided by the serious game. Data Will be collected at three points: baseline (T1) and after six weeks (T2) (for the control group, T2 will be at the same time as the experimental group's post-intervention), and aT3 (after six months of T2). The program's effectiveness will be analyzed using various statistical packages.
The study hypothesizes that adolescents will maintain or improve their physical and emotional health indicators following the emoTICare program. Specifically, statistically significant improvements (p ≤ .05) are expected in the following variables: health-related quality of life, social skills and communication, emotional awareness, resilience, self-esteem, and coping and problem-solving abilities. Additionally, a statistically significant reduction (p ≤ .05) is anticipated in variables related to the perceived threat of the disease, as well as emotional and behavioral problems. The experimental group is expected to present improvements in all these areas when comparing pre- and posttreatment evaluations, and also in comparison to the control group on the waiting list.
在青春期，个体面临各种挑战，需要进行充分的心理社会和情绪调适。此外，在这个阶段患有慢性疾病，如1型糖尿病（T1DM），会带来额外的医疗和心理需求，这可能会增加脆弱性。在这种背景下，严肃游戏成为一种有前景的工具，可在满足教育和心理情感需求的同时，保持电子游戏特有的趣味性和可玩性。目前，尚无技术工具能同时满足T1DM青少年的教育和心理情感需求。
本研究旨在设计并验证一个使用包含人工智能的技术平台的心理干预项目。通过严肃游戏emoTICare，目标是通过促进社会情感技能的发展来提升T1DM青少年的身心健康。
为测试该工具，将通过西班牙各地的糖尿病协会招募T1DM青少年。参与者为372名年龄在12至16岁之间的青少年，他们将被随机分配到对照组或实验组。实验组将完成emoTICare项目。在六周时间里，参与者将使用严肃游戏提供的工具参与心理教育活动。数据将在三个时间点收集：基线期（T1）以及六周后（T2）（对于对照组，T2将与实验组干预后时间相同），以及T2后的六个月（T3）。将使用各种统计软件包分析该项目的有效性。
该研究假设，在参与emoTICare项目后，青少年将维持或改善他们的身心健康指标。具体而言，预计在以下变量上会有统计学显著改善（p≤0.05）：与健康相关的生活质量、社交技能与沟通、情绪意识、恢复力、自尊以及应对和解决问题的能力。此外，预计与疾病感知威胁以及情绪和行为问题相关的变量会有统计学显著降低（p≤0.05）。预计实验组在比较治疗前后评估时，以及与等待名单上的对照组相比，在所有这些方面都会有所改善。
