Source:
https://www.jcu.edu.au/news/releases/2024/april/dungeons-and-dragons-may-improve-mental-health

Researchers have found that people who play the game Dungeons and
Dragons (D&D) show improvements in their mental health.

James Cook University PhD researcher Alyssia Merrick led the study,
which analysed the effect the game had on 25 people who played over
eight weeks.

She said D&D is a tabletop game involving paper and pen, typically
played over a series of sessions and with three to six people taking on
player characters’ roles and one person who takes on the role of the
Dungeon Master (DM).

“The DM is charged with guiding the players’ journey and plays the role
of enemies and nonplayer characters the players interact with. Players
roll dice to determine the result of game actions. The die roll is
modified by the abilities given to the players’ characters,” said Ms
Merrick.

She said researchers measured aspects of the mental health of 25 people
with a mean age of 28, including eight females. Four had never played
D&D at any level.

They played eight one-hour sessions of D&D over eight weeks before their
mental health was measured again.

“The game involved players tracking a goblin through a cave system after
it had stolen from a town, and players faced monsters and traps as part
of this pursuit,” said Ms Merrick.

She said participants demonstrated significant decreases in depression,
stress and anxiety and significant increases in self-esteem and
self-efficacy over the study period.

“Players often say playing D&D is cathartic and provides a space to
express emotions in the game without concern for outside consequences.
Due to the nature of the game being cooperative, D&D also offers players
a sense of connectedness and a safe space to explore their mental health
problems, allowing them to feel more at ease.

“This work and a growing number of other case studies suggest D&D can be
harnessed to minimise the impact of anxiety symptoms,” said Ms Merrick.

Link to paper here:
https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/81119/1/JCU_Merrick%20et%20al%202023%20AAM.pdf

Contacts
Alyssia Merrick
E: alyssia.merrick@my.jcu.edu.au

On 4/13/2024 12:03 AM, Kyonshi wrote:
> Source:
> https://www.jcu.edu.au/news/releases/2024/april/dungeons-and-dragons-may-improve-mental-health
>
> Researchers have found that people who play the game Dungeons and
> Dragons (D&D) show improvements in their mental health.

> They played eight one-hour sessions of D&D over eight weeks before their
> mental health was measured again.

Ugh, I tried running some one hour sessions on roll20. It's just not
long enough, one person has to go eary, or is a bit late and you've lost
a good deal of time. I've run and played some 2 hour sessions in roll20
and even that feels very short, but it was just barely enough. I had
some 3 hours live sessions which were supposed to be 4, and even that
felt like it wasn't long enough even minimizing the social niceties of
catching up and goodbys. 4 felt like the real minimum it works for. I
used to run 6 hour sessions, but I just don't have the stamina for it
anymore.

I have to wonder if those were online or in person, as I strongly feel
the in person games feel more therapeutic.

I feel like generally computer games are the opposite for mental health,
no studies to go off of, and I love my computer games, but I can tell I
feel worse both mental health and physically after a longer session.
Better than watching TV though, as at least it's still good for your
reactions and staying sharp mentally.

> Link to paper here:
> https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/81119/1/JCU_Merrick%20et%20al%202023%20AAM.pdf
>

I always used to say D&D keeps me sane. I haven't played a live game
since covid (well maybe 1-3 sessions total) and the last online was over
a year ago. I'm sure the covid lockdown wasn't good for mental health
and I feel far more anxious and depressed than I have perhaps ever (well
no, my mid-late teens/early 20's were worse, combined with life changing
injuries and even more isolation.)

I'm hanging on but I really need to get some D&D or RPGs going. I've
done a bit of soloing in the more distant past, but I don't feel it has
any or much positive mental effect either.

I suppose I should try to get back to the meetups or something, but I
had negligible interest in non 5e last time I tried, which I really
dislike. What I'd really like to see from D&D is a much simplified
current version like the basic sets. (I know there's basic 5e, but it's
still the same rules just with a lot of player options dropped, only 4
classes/races, which isn't the problem.)

--
-Justisaur

ø-ø
(\_/)\
`-'\ `--.___,
¶¬'\( ,_.-'
\\
^'

On 4/13/24 1:03 AM, Kyonshi wrote:
> Source:
> https://www.jcu.edu.au/news/releases/2024/april/dungeons-and-dragons-may-improve-mental-health
>
> Researchers have found that people who play the game Dungeons and
> Dragons (D&D) show improvements in their mental health.

Came here to post this. Got scooped by Kyonshi. Typical day :)

Good find though. When I was going through tough times (coincidentally
around the start of the pandemic) I could tell that ttrpgs were a very
important part of my mental healthcare strategy. Even without a
scientific study to prove it. Stories of empowerment, and just feeling
something other than trauma for a little while, made a huge difference
for me.

Highlights:

> A typical leisure playing session of D&D lasts between 3 to 8 hr. The
current study split up the typical session of eight hours into eight 1
hr sessions over 8 weeks.

My longest regular sessions used to max out around 4 hours. My shortest
regular sessions run 2 hours. 8 hours sounds unimaginable to me! I have
to assume there would be tons of breaks baked in. But still. Also, 1
hour seems like it would be very challenging to pull off and still get
the feeling of having played a "complete" session.

> A D&D module was specifically developed for the current study. It was
written by two of the aforementioned DMs [...] This quest involved
players tracking a goblin who had stolen a town’s belongings through a
cave system (PCs found themselves facing monsters and traps as part of
this pursuit). The quest culminated in a social dilemma, in which the
goblin confessed to stealing the town’s items to feel as if they fit
into regular society. Through their combined effort, PCs were able to
resolve the conflict with the goblin and return the missing items to the
town, where they were heralded as heroes.

I wonder if the author(s) would be willing to publish the module. I'd be
interested in reading it at the very least for the sake of novelty.
Maybe even playing through it!

> D&D is an example of play. Play has been defined as an unproductive
activity, governed by rules and facilitated using make-believe

I think the existence of this study challenges this definition! What is
unproductive about significantly decreasing depression, stress, and
anxiety; and increasing self-esteem and self-efficacy?

> Given that play facilitates escapism in a form that is usually
positive and enjoyable, it may therefore lead to flow

The whole section on flow, starting on page 10, is really good.

The conclusion makes me wonder whether D&D has decreased efficacy
compared to other ttrpgs. Specifically ones that aren't so heavily
focused on combat and violence. On the other hand, D&D does tend to have
very clear and accomplishable goals, which can feel very good when one
is otherwise experiencing a lot of hopelessness and feeling overwhelmed.

On 4/13/2024 8:51 AM, dozens wrote:
> On 4/13/24 1:03 AM, Kyonshi wrote:
> > A D&D module was specifically developed for the current study. It was
> written by two of the aforementioned DMs [...] This quest involved
> players tracking a goblin who had stolen a town’s belongings through a
> cave system (PCs found themselves facing monsters and traps as part of
> this pursuit). The quest culminated in a social dilemma, in which the
> goblin confessed to stealing the town’s items to feel as if they fit
> into regular society. Through their combined effort, PCs were able to
> resolve the conflict with the goblin and return the missing items to the
> town, where they were heralded as heroes.
>
> I wonder if the author(s) would be willing to publish the module. I'd be
> interested in reading it at the very least for the sake of novelty.
> Maybe even playing through it!

I'd love to try some specifically 'theraputic' modules.

> > D&D is an example of play. Play has been defined as an unproductive
> activity, governed by rules and facilitated using make-believe
>
> I think the existence of this study challenges this definition! What is
> unproductive about significantly decreasing depression, stress, and
> anxiety; and increasing self-esteem and self-efficacy?

Yes. Of course what really needs to happen is a larger study with a
control group. Of course finding other activities that don't have any
impact one way or another may be difficult. Is it better than an hour
of yoga, meditation, acupuncture, prayer, reading, playing a CRPG etc.

> > Given that play facilitates escapism in a form that is usually
> positive and enjoyable, it may therefore lead to flow

> The whole section on flow, starting on page 10, is really good.

I hadn't read the paper, I just saw a lot of formulae and numbers early
and decided it was above me. Thanks for pointing that out. Some good
quotes:

"If a D&D game’s challenge level is too high, players are likely to feel
anxious. If the challenge level is too low, players may feel bored."

People have different levels of that though and it can be hard to get
into a game that has the right level for you. It's not just that
though. I feel like 5e is too mechanical and slow and leads to boredom.
My own system ended up too fast on the other hand, which I didn't
think was possible before making it. I over-optimized for speed of play
which I didn't have an answer for. It's also hard to know as I was the
one running it, was that just because I was so familiar with it?

I feel like Dungeon Robber (which I partially based it on) may go that
direction for live play as well (while it feels a bit slow playing the
CRPG version.)

> The conclusion makes me wonder whether D&D has decreased efficacy
> compared to other ttrpgs. Specifically ones that aren't so heavily
> focused on combat and violence. On the other hand, D&D does tend to have
> very clear and accomplishable goals, which can feel very good when one
> is otherwise experiencing a lot of hopelessness and feeling overwhelmed.

It sounds like the adventure they did may not have had much if any
combat in it though as it talks about tracking down a goblin who stole
things and finding out the goblin just felt like it didn't fit in, and
stole things to feel like it did (no mention of how the PCs reacted or
solved it at that point.)

That may go toward that balance though, Even back in 2e I felt that
about half non-combat activities and half combat was a good balance.
All of the 5e I've played has been far on the side of combat,
exacerbated by the slow and prolonged combat system, and even skills
being mechanical resolutions.

--
-Justisaur

ø-ø
(\_/)\
`-'\ `--.___,
¶¬'\( ,_.-'
\\
^'

On 4/13/2024 5:51 PM, dozens wrote:
> On 4/13/24 1:03 AM, Kyonshi wrote:
>> Source:
>> https://www.jcu.edu.au/news/releases/2024/april/dungeons-and-dragons-may-improve-mental-health
>>
>> Researchers have found that people who play the game Dungeons and
>> Dragons (D&D) show improvements in their mental health.
>
> Came here to post this. Got scooped by Kyonshi. Typical day :)

I got admit I am trying to fill the frp-hierarchy with a bit more life,
because I think it's kind of sad if it disappears. After all
..storyteller and .industry already got kicked out of the big eight. So I
periodically check for appropriate news to post. It's a bit of a pet
project.