Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Roblox Video Game for Children and Adolescents to Improve Body Image: Randomised Controlled Trial
试验速览
- 阶段
- 不适用
- 状态
- 已完成
- 入组人数
- 2,941
- 试验地点
- 1
- 主要终点
- Change in state body satisfaction (assessed via Visual Analogue Scales)
研究概览
简要总结
Body image concerns can have serious physical and psychological consequences on young people, including anxiety, depression, risk taking behaviours, eating disorders and suicidal ideation.
Micro-interventions (brief, low intensity interventions), offer an alternative to traditional, intense interventions that aim to immediately improve specific symptoms. Body image micro-interventions have proven effective at providing immediate and short-term improvements in body image among adolescents within digital and community settings. To date, utilising micro interventions in the world of gaming remains unexplored. Specifically, the Roblox platform which is hugely popular among young people (Roblox, September 2022).
As such, the aim of the present study is to conduct a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the immediate and short-term impact of a Roblox game, Super U story, on American children and adolescents' body image, mood, internalisation of appearance ideals and social media literacy. The primary outcome is immediate change in state-based body satisfaction. Secondary outcomes include immediate changes in state-based mood and body functionality and short-term changes in trait body esteem, body appreciation, internalisation of appearance ideals and social media literacy.
The Super U story was developed through a collaboration between Dove (Unilever), Toya (game developers) and The Centre for Appearance Research. It was specifically designed to target sociocultural risk and protective factors for body image including social media literacy, appearance comparisons, positive body image and teasing/bullying around appearance.
The comparison control conditions include an active control; an alternative Roblox game; Rainbow Friends story which has been matched to the intervention on style, length, and age appropriateness (omitting body image messaging) and an attention control whereby participants complete a series of word searches.
To undertake the main trial, 1,479 girls and boys will be recruited through an external research agency. Participants will be randomised to one of three conditions: 1) the Super U story intervention, 2) alternative Roblox game or 3) attention control. All participants will be encouraged to play the game/word search for a maximum of 30 minutes, where they will be assessed on state-body image and mood immediately before and after completing the game/word search. All participants will be assessed on trait body esteem, body appreciation, internalisation of appearance ideals and social media literacy at baseline (one week pre-intervention) and again at one-week post intervention.
At the end of the study, all participants will receive a debrief form, outlining the study aims and objectives, and additional resources for body and eating concerns.
详细描述
Background:
Extensive research has established that body image issues are evident in early adolescence and can have far-reaching negative consequences for young people. For instance, poor body image is predictive of various negative outcomes, including disordered eating, low self-esteem and mood, and risky health behaviours in early adulthood, such as smoking and drug use.
Micro-interventions are designed to deliver content that aims to immediately improve specific symptoms, and they have been applied to adolescent and adult samples with body image and mood symptoms in community and digital environments. Digitally delivered micro-interventions have shown promise in improving some body image outcomes in the moment. Importantly, interactive micro-interventions that require active engagement with its content appear to be more effective than didactic or passive micro-intervention styles.
Super U intervention:
As such, this project involves the evaluation of 'Super U', a video game-based micro-intervention designed for American girls and boys. It was created in collaboration with the Dove Self-Esteem Project and Toya, a gaming studio that creates games for the Roblox platform, a hugely popular gaming platform among young people with over 57 million daily users (Roblox, September 2022). Super U is a narrative-based game, which centres around The Academy - a school for kids with superpowers - under siege by a group of rogue students bent on spreading negativity. The mission is to help players find their unique superpower of flight, fire, water, or speed, to dodge and destroy poisonous negativity to help save The Academy from being overcome. Through the engaging story of Super U, players receive messages that address known risk factors for poor body image and provide them with strategies that promote positive body image, such as learning to focus on what their body can do, instead of what it looks like; recognising that making comparisons can lead to body dissatisfaction; understanding the importance of critically evaluating messages on social media; and learning how to deal with appearance-related bullying.
研究设计
- 研究类型
- Interventional
- 分配方式
- Randomized
- 干预模型
- Parallel
- 主要目的
- Prevention
- 盲法
- Single (Outcomes Assessor)
盲法说明
The datasets given to the statistician will be blinded to the condition.
入排标准
- 年龄范围
- 9 Years 至 13 Years（Child）
- 性别
- All
- 接受健康志愿者
- 是
入选标准
- •based in the United States
- •aged between 9 and 13 years old
- •use the Roblox gaming platform a minimum of 4 hours per week
- •can read and write on their own
排除标准
- •has played Super U Story
- •do not have the written consent from a parent / caregiver to participate
研究组 & 干预措施
Super U Story intervention
Participants in this condition will be asked to play the Roblox video game, Super U Story with the goal of reaching the end of the game (approximately 20-30 minutes)
干预措施: Super U Story intervention (Behavioral)
Alternative Roblox game
Participants in this condition will be asked to play the Roblox video game, Rainbow Friends Story (Color Story) with the goal of reaching the end of the game (approximately 20-30 minutes)
干预措施: Alternative Roblox game (Behavioral)
Online word search
Participants in this attention control condition will be asked to complete as many online word searches on the topic of animals as they can in 20-30 minutes.
干预措施: Online word search (Behavioral)
结局指标
主要结局
Change in state body satisfaction (assessed via Visual Analogue Scales)
时间窗: Immediately pre-intervention and immediately post-intervention
Visual analogue scales will assess participants state level of body satisfaction. Items include: (1) "How happy do you feel about your body weight, right now?" (2) "How happy do you feel about your body shape, right now?" (3) "How happy do you feel about the way you look, right now?" Participants indicate their levels of satisfaction on a 10-point VAS (0 = extreme dissatisfaction; 10 = extreme satisfaction). A mean score across the three items will be calculated with higher scores indicating higher state body satisfaction.
次要结局
- Change in state mood (assessed via a Visual Analogue Scale)(Immediately pre-intervention and immediately post-intervention)
- Change in body esteem (assessed via the Body Esteem Scale for Children)(Baseline (one week prior to the intervention) and follow up (one week after the intervention is complete))
- Change in state body functionality (assessed via a Visual Analogue Scale)(Immediately pre-intervention and immediately post-intervention)
- Change in body appreciation (assessed via the Body Appreciation Scale -2 for Children)(Baseline (one week prior to the intervention) and follow up (one week after the intervention is complete))
- Change in Internalisation of societal appearance ideals (assessed via the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3:General Subscale)(Baseline (one week prior to the intervention) and follow up (one week after the intervention is complete))
- Change in Social media literacy (assessed via a purpose built measure)(Baseline (one week prior to the intervention) and follow up (one week after the intervention is complete))