The development of ReGoal, a serious mobile game for young people with conduct problems.

Abstract

Research suggests that serious games can be used as supplementary training tools for young people with complex mental health needs. This study aimed to co-produce a mobile-accessible serious game, ReGoal, in collaboration with young people (11–16 years) and an interdisciplinary team of academic experts and practitioners. ReGoal is aimed to serve as a supplementary tool for improving emotion regulation, goal-orientation, and executive functioning skills. This study consisted of three interlinked co-production phases. First, 122 participants, of which 34% had moderate to high conduct problems, completed an online survey about the role of gaming in managing their emotions. During the second phase, 16 young people attended three focus groups in which their lived experiences shaped the narrative of ReGoal. In the third phase, an online user survey gathered feedback from 72 young people playing the most recent prototype of ReGoal. The key findings suggest that young people valued playing ReGoal as a supplementary aid to improving their mood, increasing empathy towards peers and family, reducing anxiety, anger, and impulsivity, and understanding other people’s emotions. Future research should test the applicability and feasibility of ReGoal in reducing behavioural problems with clinical and non-clinical samples.