This paper is in the following e-collection/theme issue:

Reviews in Digital Mental Health (289) Mental Health Games (115) Methods and New Tools in Mental Health Research (558) Digital Mental Health Interventions, e-Mental Health and Cyberpsychology (2111) Games and Gamification for Health (776) Web-based and Mobile Health Interventions (4017) Serious Games for Health and Medicine (802) Mobile Health (mhealth) (3463) Depression and Mood Disorders; Suicide Prevention (1689)

Published on in Vol 8, No 11 (2021): November

Preprints (earlier versions) of this paper are available at https://preprints.jmir.org/preprint/32199, first published .
Examining the Effectiveness of Gamification in Mental Health Apps for Depression: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Examining the Effectiveness of Gamification in Mental Health Apps for Depression: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Examining the Effectiveness of Gamification in Mental Health Apps for Depression: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Authors of this article:

Stephanie G Six1 Author Orcid Image ;   Kaileigh A Byrne1 Author Orcid Image ;   Thomas P Tibbett2 Author Orcid Image ;   Irene Pericot-Valverde3 Author Orcid Image
Article Authors Cited by (61) Tweetations (3) Metrics

Journals

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  15. Weisz J, Fitzpatrick O, Venturo‐Conerly K, Sternberg A, Steinberg J, Ng M. Research Review: The internalizing paradox – youth anxiety and depression symptoms, psychotherapy outcomes, and implications for research and practice. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 2023;64(12):1720 View
  16. Lipschitz J, Pike C, Hogan T, Murphy S, Burdick K. The Engagement Problem: a Review of Engagement with Digital Mental Health Interventions and Recommendations for a Path Forward. Current Treatment Options in Psychiatry 2023;10(3):119 View
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  21. van Mierlo T, Rondina R, Fournier R. Nudges and Prompts Increase Engagement in Self-Guided Digital Health Treatment for Depression and Anxiety: Results From a 3-Arm Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Formative Research 2024;8:e52558 View
  22. Sriwatanathamma P, Sirivesmas V, Simatrang S, Bhowmik N. Developing a Framework for Interactions in CBT-Based Serious Games on Smartphones. International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations 2024;16(1):1 View
  23. Newby J, Upton E, Mason E, Black M. Technology-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Interventions. Psychiatric Clinics of North America 2024;47(2):399 View
  24. Sharma D, Sharma J, Mehta N. THE ART OF GAMIFICATION FOR SOCIETAL MIND SHIFTS: REFINING HUMAN BEHAVIOUR THROUGH STRATEGIC ENGAGEMENT. ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts 2024;5(1) View
  25. Assanovich M, Skugarevsky O, Kaspartov M, Sokol A. Temporal Changes in Depressive Symptoms Among Goodville Farm Game Players: A 6-Week Observational Study. Games for Health Journal 2024;13(5):354 View
  26. Gray L, Marcynikola N, Barnett I, Torous J. The Potential for Digital Phenotyping in Understanding Mindfulness App Engagement Patterns: A Pilot Study. Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine 2024;30(11):1108 View
  27. Kandola A, Edwards K, Muller M, Dührkoop B, Hein B, Straatman J, Hayes J. Digitally managing depression: A fully remote randomised attention-placebo controlled trial. DIGITAL HEALTH 2024;10 View
  28. Amer N, Shohieb S, Eladrosy W, Liu S, Nam Y, Abdelrazek S. A gamified cognitive behavioral therapy for Arabs to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety: A case study research. DIGITAL HEALTH 2024;10 View
  29. Wrona K, Aschentrup L, Freyer O, Fischer F. Mentale Gesundheit spielerisch verbessern: Potenziale und Anforderungen digitaler Anwendungen. Prävention und Gesundheitsförderung 2025;20(3):472 View
  30. Luo Y, Stice B, Lenz A. Mental health apps for depression: A meta‐analysis. Journal of Counseling & Development 2025;103(1):25 View
  31. Freyer O, Wrona K, de Snoeck Q, Hofmann M, Melvin T, Stratton-Powell A, Wicks P, Parks A, Gilbert S. The regulatory status of health apps that employ gamification. Scientific Reports 2024;14(1) View
  32. Mahreen Z, Zainuldin N, Zhang M. Comprehensive synthesis of mHealth interventions in psychiatry: insights from systematic, scoping, narrative reviews and content analysis. Singapore Medical Journal 2024;65(10):536 View
  33. Rajeshkumar L, Mishkind M, Coleman J, Pahwa M, LaPreze D, Solenske S, Wright J. Computer-assisted Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Mobile Apps for Depression and Anxiety: Evidence-based Digital Tools for Clinical Practice. Journal of Psychiatric Practice 2024;30(6):389 View
  34. Pelucio L, Quagliato L, Cardoso A, Horato N, Nardi A. Could the use of web-based applications assist in neuropsychiatric treatment? An umbrella review. BMC Psychology 2025;13(1) View
  35. Six S, Schlesener E, Hill V, Babu S, Byrne K. Impact of Conversational and Animation Features of a Mental Health App Virtual Agent on Depressive Symptoms and User Experience Among College Students: Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Mental Health 2025;12:e67381 View
  36. Kim M, Moon Y, Chung K. An App-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Program Tailored for College Students: Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR mHealth and uHealth 2025;13:e50006 View
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  38. Siriaraya P, Adachi S, Visch V, Spijkerman R, Nakajima S. The Motivational Power of Levels and High Scores: Examining their impact on User Experience and Persistence within Gamified Tasks. Games: Research and Practice 2025;3(3):1 View
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  40. Del Pozo-Herce P, Tovar-Reinoso A, García Carpintero-Blas E, Casaux Huertas A, Ruiz de Viñaspre-Hernández R, Martínez-Sabater A, Chover-Sierra E, Rodríguez-García M, Juarez-Vela R. Gamification as a Tool for Understanding Mental Disorders in Nursing Students: Qualitative Study. JMIR Nursing 2025;8:e71921 View
  41. Thapar S, Quesada D, Knäuper B. Therapy Companion Mobile App for Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Exercises (ACTaide): Therapist and Client Co-Design Study. JMIR Formative Research 2025;9:e69532 View
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  43. 何 宇. Research Progress and Trend Analysis of Gamification Design Based on Bibliometric Methods. Design 2025;10(04):239 View
  44. Yokotani K, Takano M, Abe N, Kato T. Improvement of Game Users’ Depressive Symptoms via Behavioral Activation in a Massive Multiplayer Online Game: Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Serious Games 2025;13:e73734 View
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Books/Policy Documents

  1. Santos Faria C, Cesário V, Campos P, Satar M, Alvadia T. HCI International 2024 Posters. View
  2. Arslan B, Bulut O, Meriç M. Handbook of the Behavior and Psychology of Disease. View
  3. Akahome J, Ogodo S, Olubiyi T. The Future of Small Business in Industry 5.0. View
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Conference Proceedings

  1. Arihta C, Fujiono D, Veronica , Moniaga J, Dwi Rianto I. 2022 3rd International Conference on Electrical Engineering and Informatics (ICon EEI). A Review of Gamification Related to Mental Health Treatment View
  2. Burns Q, Voida S. Adjunct Proceedings of the 2023 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing & the 2023 ACM International Symposium on Wearable Computing. Investigating Mobile Mental Health App Designs to Foster Engagement Among Adolescents View
  3. Noor S, Wook T, Elias N, Mohamed H, Hussain N, Ismail W, Thiagarajan A, Ibrahim N, Fabil N. 2023 International Conference on Electrical Engineering and Informatics (ICEEI). Designing a Mindful Computerized Therapy Module to Reduce Depression View
  4. Erol A, Yılmaz M, Clarke P. 2024 9th International Conference on Computer Science and Engineering (UBMK). Awareness of Gamification as a Non-Pharmacological Intervention in Sleep Health Research: A Systematic Literature Review View
  5. Schlesener E, Six S, Byrne K, Babu S. ACM Symposium on Applied Perception 2025. `Talk to Me': Comparing the Effects of Virtual Character Interaction Fidelity on Perceived Usability, User Experience, and Acceptance in a Mental Health Application View
  6. Phedra W, Fabroyir H, Yuniarti A. 2025 International Conference on Information Technology Research and Innovation (ICITRI). Design of a Gamified Mobile Diary to Reduce Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in Young Adults View