Digital Behavioral Health Game Reduces Depressive Symptoms in Teens

TUESDAY, Aug. 18, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- A codesigned digital behavioral health game for adolescents with depressive and anxiety symptoms is associated with a modest, sustained reduction in depressive symptoms, according to a study published online Aug. 17 in JAMA Network Open.Caroline M. Barry, Ph.D., M.P.H., from the play2PREVENT Lab at the Geisel School of Medicine in Hanover, New Hampshire, and colleagues examined the association of a digital behavioral health game for adolescents (aged 16 to 19 years) with depressive and anxiety symptoms during 12 months of follow-up in a prespecified secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial. Participants were randomly assigned to a digital game of about 300 minutes delivered during six weeks or an attention-matched active control (269 and 263 teens, respectively). Depressive and anxiety symptoms were examined as prespecified outcomes using the eight-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) and seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) assessment tool, respectively.The researchers identified a group-by-time interaction for the PHQ-8 scores. At 12 months, the adjusted mean PHQ-8 scores were 5.30 and 6.42 in the intervention and control groups, respectively, with no association seen for GAD-7. Intervention participants reported higher beliefs about psychological services (BAPS) scores at six weeks (adjusted difference, 0.03). There was an association for early BAPS improvements with PHQ-8 score reductions at six months. There were no associations with remaining outcomes or moderation."Because behavioral health games like PlaySmart are digital and self-guided, they have tremendous potential to reach adolescents across a wide range of settings who might not otherwise receive care, including communities where access to mental health services is very limited," Barry said in a statement.Two authors disclosed ties to Playbl, a digital health company that develops and disseminates evidence-based, game-based interventions, which is a spin-out of the play2PREVENT Lab.Abstract/Full Text.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Digital Behavioral Health Game Reduces Depressive Symptoms in Teens

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