e-Estesia: A Serious Game for Reducing Arousal, Improving Emotional Regulation and Increasing Wellbeing in Individuals with Gambling Disorder

Teresa Mena-Moreno, Lucero Munguía, Roser Granero, Ignacio Lucas, Fernando Fernández-Aranda, Mónica Gómez-Peña, Laura Moragas, Antonio Verdejo-García, José M. Menchón, Susana Jiménez-Murcia

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Gambling disorder (GD) is associated with deficits in emotion regulation and impulsivity-related personality traits. In recent years there has been an increase in the use of serious games (SG) to address these factors with positive results. The aim of this study was to analyze the efficacy of the intervention with a new SG (e-Estesia), as an adjunct to a CBT intervention for GD. The sample comprised two groups (experimental group (n = 40) and control group (n = 64)) of patients with GD diagnosis. Both groups received 16 weekly CBT sessions and, concurrently, only the experimental group received 15 additional sessions with e-Estesia. Pre-post treatment with e-Estesia administered in both groups were: DSM-5 Criteria, South Oaks Gambling Screen, Symptom Checklist-Revised and measure of relapses, dropout and compliance of treatment. As regards the experimental group were also administered: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, and Impulsive Behavior Scale. No statistically significant differences in the general psychopathological state, emotion regulation or impulsivity were found when comparing the groups. However, patients enrolled in the e-Estesia intervention had significantly less relapses and better indicators of treatment compliance than the control group. Considering these results, the use of complementary tools such as SG are useful for addressing GD.

Original languageEnglish
Article number6798
Number of pages18
JournalJournal of Clinical Medicine
Volume11
Issue number22
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2022

Keywords

  • complementary intervention
  • emotion regulation
  • gambling disorder
  • serious games
  • treatment outcomes

Cite this