Effectiveness of game-based digital intervention for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis using Beard and Wilson's conceptualization of perception in experiential learning
Abstract
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects 8% of children worldwide, making it one of the most prevalent neurodevelopmental disorders. Traditional treatments, such as pharmacological and behavioral therapies, often have limitations. This study examined the effects of game-based digital interventions on specific cognitive and behavioral functions in children with ADHD, guided by experiential learning theory (ELT). We utilized ELT to synthesize results from various studies on game-based digital interventions across three dimensions: behavioral, cognitive, and affective responses. ELT also provided a framework for categorizing the gaming elements and strategies embedded in each intervention, facilitating the transformation of experience into learning. The systematic review included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that assessed game-based digital health interventions targeting ADHD symptoms in children and adolescents. Studies focusing on non-digital or non-game-based interventions were excluded. A search was conducted across Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, ProQuest, PsycINFO, and PubMed, with the final search date of October 20, 2024. The risk of bias in the included studies was assessed following PRISMA guidelines using the RoB 2 tool. Studies were analyzed using fixed-effects or random-effects models based on heterogeneity. The final analysis included eight RCTs, most of which focused on the cognitive effects of game-based interventions for ADHD. The…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid.
Read the paper
Related studies
- The neurocircuitry of addiction: an overview
- Gender Differences in Human Brain: A Review
- Stratified medicine for mental disorders
- The neurobiology of drug addiction: cross-species insights into the dysfunction and recovery of the prefrontal cortex
- Annual Research Review: DNA methylation as a mediator in the association between risk exposure and child and adolescent psychopathology
- Schizophrenia: The new etiological synthesis
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.