COMPUTER GAME ENGAGEMENT FOR ADOLESCENTS WITH DEPRESSION: A PRELIMINARY STUDY ON USER EXPERIENCE

Depression is a common but serious medical illness in the developed countries, and Malaysia is quickly following suit. Adolescents that experience depression may pretend to be sick, refuse to go to school, feel misunderstood and frequently get related disorders like anxiety, eating or substance abuse or even can lead to an attempt for suicide. Many adolescents experience difficulties with traditional face-to-face work during therapist session. In this paper, we present a computer game specifically designed as a tool to help adolescents with depression to engage with their therapist/counselor. The game aims to assist in easing the difficulties experienced by adolescents with direct face-to-face counseling session. There are 3 levels in this game. The target group in this research is adolescents of age ranging from 15 to 17 years old. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) approach was used. Qualitative and quantitative surveys and observation were done during the evaluation. This research describes the study in which the game was used with 17 Malaysian school adolescents. The users of the game were tested on the user satisfaction, user engagement, and user motivation as well as user acceptability towards the game. Findings indicate that most users enjoyed the game. Overall, adolescents and counselor provided positive feedback on the game. The computer game can help in effective adolescent-counselor relationship, and can assist in improving adolescents’ engagement during the counseling process.