RESUMO
Objective: Following the initial measures taken to manage the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health conditions have become a critical concern. Mental health has become a foremost priority not only for health care providers but also for many other organizations, such as educational institutions, companies, and government agencies. A significant proportion of the Australian population having experienced mental disorders highlights the need for effective interventions. Those with pre-existing mental health issues experienced particularly pronounced effects. Among these challenges, advancements in technology offer new possibilities for mental health support. Videogames have shown effectiveness in mitigating symptoms of depression. Previous research has shown that game interface preferences correlate with players' emotional responses. This study aims to use MoodJumper, a game we designed, developed, and evaluated to examine the choice of game preferences in individuals with depressive symptoms. Materials and Methods: A pilot study was carried out after obtaining the Human Ethics committee's approval (n = 20). The participants were asked to fill out a Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) questionnaire. They then played with the MoodJumper game for 20-30 minutes. Upon completing the game session, they were asked to fill out a questionnaire regarding their experience. Results: The results indicate a nonsignificant correlation between music preference, the direction of movement, and depressive symptoms meaning no significant relationship was found between depressive symptoms and chosen settings. However, a significant negative correlation was found between decision-making ability regarding game preferences and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 scores showing the difficulty of choosing preferred settings when having depressive symptoms. Conclusion: This contribution paves the way for designing and evaluating more impactful game experiences for individuals with mental health challenges.
RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Individuals with high schizotypy or schizophrenia exhibit difficulties in distributing their attention across space, leading to a reduction in their "perceptual span" - the extent of visual space that can be attended to at once. In this study, we aim to explore the correlation between schizotypy and perceptual span in a non-clinical sample to investigate whether perceptual span correlates with schizotypy across its range. METHODS: Schizotypy was assessed in fifty-five participants using the Schizotypy Personality Questionnaire (SPQ; Raine, 1991). Participants were required to attend to two dynamic targets displayed in a head-mounted virtual reality display. Perceptual span was estimated as the lateral angle of separation between the two targets beyond which performance in the task dropped to threshold. RESULTS: Participants with higher schizotypy scores performed significantly worse on the task. Of all the factors associated with schizotypy, the shared variance between Disorganisation and Cognitive/Perceptual Factors was most predictive of task performance. CONCLUSION: The results support the hypothesis that schizotypy predicts perceptual span in non-clinical samples. Furthermore, the demonstration of a reduced perceptual span in individuals with higher trait schizotypy shows that variations in an individual's capacity to divide attention across space can be accurately captured using a virtual reality head-mounted display.