%0 Journal Article
%T Feasibility of a web-accessible game-based intervention aimed at improving help seeking and coping among sexual and gender minority youth: results from a randomized controlled trial
%J Journal of Adolescent Health
%D 2021
%A Egan, James E.
%A Corey, Stephanie L.
%A Henderson, Emmett R.
%A Abebe, Kaleab Z.
%A Louth-Marquez, William
%A Espelage, Dorothy L.
%A Hunter, Simon C.
%A DeLucas, Matthew
%A Miller, Elizabeth
%A Morrill, Brooke A.
%A Hieftje, Kimberly
%A Sang, Jordan M.
%A Friedman, Mark S.
%A Coulter, Robert W. S.
%V ePub
%N ePub
%P ePub-ePub
%X PURPOSE: To address the gap in interventions for improving sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY; e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth) health, we tested the feasibility of a game-based intervention for increasing help-seeking, productive coping skills, resource knowledge/use, and well-being. <br><br>METHODS: We conducted a 2-arm randomized controlled trial testing a theory-based, community-informed, Web-accessible computer role-playing game intervention. Control condition received a list of resources. Primary hypotheses were high levels of implementation success, game demand, and game acceptability. <br><br>RESULTS: We randomized 240 SGMYs aged 14-18 years into the intervention (n = 120) or control (n = 120) conditions. Participants completed baseline (100%), 1-month follow-up (T2; 73.3%), and 2-month follow-up (T3; 64.4%) surveys. Among intervention participants, 55.8% downloaded and played the game. Of those who played, 46.2% reported a desire to play it again, and 50.8% would recommend it. Game acceptability exceeded hypothesized benchmarks, wherein participants reported high positive affect (M = 2.36; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.13, 2.58), low negative affect (M = 2.75; 95% CI: 2.55, 2.95), low tension/annoyance (M = 3.18; 95% CI: 2.98, 3.39), and high competence (M = 2.23; 95% CI: 2.04, 2.43) while playing the game. In multivariable intent-to-treat analyses of 38 secondary/tertiary outcomes, intervention participants reported significantly larger reductions than control participants in cyberbullying victimization (T2 b = -.28; 95% CI: -.56, -.01), binge drinking frequency (T2 b = -.39; 95% CI: -.71, -.06), and marijuana use frequency (T3 b = -2.78; 95% CI: -4.49, -1.08). <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: We successfully implemented a Web-accessible game trial with SGMY. The game-based intervention was feasible and acceptable to SGMY, and preliminary results show it improved several health-related behaviors. A larger scale trial is needed to test whether the game-based intervention can reduce health inequities for SGMY.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
%G en
%I Elsevier Publishing
%@ 1054-139X
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2021.03.027