Skip to content. | Skip to navigation

Personal tools

Navigation

You are here: Home / Blog / Social Workers’ Perceptions of the Association Between Role Playing Games and Psychopathology

Social Workers’ Perceptions of the Association Between Role Playing Games and Psychopathology

by Hawke Robinson published Jun 20, 2015 05:05 PM, last modified Feb 05, 2023 12:22 PM
Whereas role-playing and table-top role-play games (RPGs) have been proven to have potential as therapeutic tools, playing RPGs is often stereotypically associated with social incompetence and psychiatric disorders.
Cite this article as:
Ben-Ezra, M., Lis, E., Błachnio, A. et al. Psychiatr Q (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-017-9526-7
  • DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-017-9526-7
  • Publisher Name Springer US
  • Print ISSN 0033-2720
  • Online ISSN 1573-6709

Authors:

  • Menachem Ben-Ezra
  • Eric Lis
  • Agata Błachnio
  • Lia Ring
  • Osnat Lavenda
  • Michal Mahat-Shamir

Affiliations:

  1. 1.School of Social WorkAriel UniversityArielIsrael
  2. 2.McGill University Psychiatry Perceptions of Emerging Technologies LabsMontrealCanada
  3. 3.Institute of PsychologyThe John Paul II Catholic University of LublinLublinPoland

Source: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11126-017-9526-7

Original Paper

 

Abstract

Whereas role-playing and table-top role-play games (RPGs) have been proven to have potential as therapeutic tools, playing RPGs is often stereotypically associated with social incompetence and psychiatric disorders. Knowledge regarding the stereotype and its implications is very scarce specifically among mental health practitioners. Therefore the present study aimed to narrow this gap in knowledge by examining the perception of Social Workers that are considered to be the forefront of mental health-care, in regard to the association between playing RPGs and mental health. A convenience sample of 130 Social Workers, recruited through social networks (e.g. Facebook, WhatsApp etc.), responded to an on-line survey dealing with their perception of their own knowledge on RPGs, the importance of such knowledge and the association between playing RPGs and mental illness. Results indicated an association between having higher knowledge of RPGs and lower perception of a link between playing RPGs and psychopathology. The study’s findings emphasize the false stigma and its potential harmful implication on professionals’ practice, especially in the context of intake process and primary diagnostic. The effect of familiarity is also discussed in light of the study’s findings.

Highlights

• The perception of mental health professionals toward role playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons is understudied.

• Social Workers' perception was measured in regard to the connection between use of RPGs and DSM-IV-TR psychopathology.

• Greater knowledge of RPGs was found to be associated with lower perception of the connection between use of RPGs and DSM-IV-TR psychopathology.

 

References

  1. 1.
    Ewalt DM. Of dice and men: the story of Dungeons & Dragons and the people who play it. New York: Simon and Schuster; 2014.Google Scholar
  2. 2.
    Blackmon WD. Dungeons and dragons: the use of a fantasy game in the psychotherapeutic treatment of a young adult. Am J Psychother. 1994;48:624–32.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  3. 3.
    Franco GE. Videogames as a therapeutic tool in the context of narrative therapy. Front Psychol. 2016;7 doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01657.
  4. 4.
    Lis E, Chiniara C, Biskin R, Montoro R. Psychiatrists’ perceptions of role-playing games. Psychiatry Q. 2015;86:381–4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. 5.
    Lis E, Chiniara C, Wood MA, Biskin R, Montoro R. Psychiatrists’ perceptions of world of Warcraft and other MMORPGs. Psychiatry Q. 2016;87:323–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  6. 6.
    O’Brien RM. A caution regarding rules of thumb for variance inflation factors. Qual Quant. 2007;41:673–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. 7.
    Zajonc RB. Attitudinal effects of mere exposure. J Personal Soc Psych: Monogr Supp. 1968;9:1–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. 8.
    Bornstein RF. Exposure and affect: overview and meta-analysis of research 1968-1987. Psychol Bull. 1989;106:265–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. 9.
    Freund A, Band-Winterstein T. Between tradition and modernity: social work-related change processes in the Jewish ultra-orthodox society in Israel. Int J Intcult Rel. 2013;37:422–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. 10.
    Essack Z, Toohey J, Strode A. Reflecting on adolescents’ evolving sexual and reproductive health rights: canvassing the opinion of social workers in KwaZulu-Natal. South Africa Rep Health Matt. 2016;24:195–204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. 11.
    Waters, D: What happened to dungeons and dragons? BBC News, 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3655627.stm. Retrieved 12 Apr 2017.
  12. 12.
    Pundak Forums. Dungeons and dragons in Israel, 2007. https://www.pundak.co.il/columns/daniel/21-dnd-rpg-israel. Retrieved 12 Apr 2017.