The Impact of Playing Tetris on Migrants' Mental Health

January 8, 2025 updated by: Mario Braakman, Tilburg University

Does Playing Tetris Prevent the Development of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or Related Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms During and After Migration?

This study examines if playing Tetris prevents the development of Post-traumatic stress disorder or related anxiety and depressive symptoms. The investigators recruit 300 participants in total in Greece and in the Netherlands. The participants are immigrants who have applied for asylum at any point in the past. The participants are asked to answer three questionnaires (on Post-traumatic stress disorder, related anxiety and depressive symptoms, and post-migration living difficulties) on a recurring basis - once every 4 weeks, 12 times in total. Half of the participants (treatment group) are randomly selected to play Tetris after completing the questionnaires. Participants in the treatment group are instructed to play Tetris for at least 15 minutes while trying to remember bad things that recently happened to them. Tetris is administered at three instances and participants in the treatment group are encouraged to play Tetris in case of experiencing any traumatic events or having any intrusive memories during the course of the study.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

300

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Arabic-speaking immigrants of any gender who have applied for asylum in Greece or in the Netherlands, regardless of the outcome of their asylum application and their current residency status (rejected asylum seekers, recognized refugees, undocumented migrants).

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Minors (under the age of 18).

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Other: Treatment tetris group
Randomly selected participants who reply to mental health and migration-related difficulties questionnaires are asked to play Tetris during the research.
Behavioral: Tetris
Randomly selected participants (migrants) are asked to play Tetris for at least 15 minutes on several occasions. These participants are asked while playing Tetris to try and remember bad events that recently happened to them. The participants play the classic version of the Tetris game directly on their mobile phone.
Other: Control group
Randomly selected participants who reply to mental health and migration-related difficulties questionnaires, but do not play Tetris during the research.
Other: No intervention
Participants do not receive any intervention.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Time Frame: From enrolment to the end of the study (40 weeks)
The investigators use the Primary Care Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Screen for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fifth edition (PC-PTSD-5)
From enrolment to the end of the study (40 weeks)
Anxiety and depression symptoms
Time Frame: From enrolment to the end of the study (40 weeks)
The investigators use the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale
From enrolment to the end of the study (40 weeks)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Post-migration living difficulties
Time Frame: From enrolment to the end of the study (40 weeks)

In the course of the study, the investigators measure variation in post-migration living difficulties such as separation from family, social isolation, language barriers, etc. Participants are presented a checklist of items and asked to identify for each item if it has been a problem for them over the last month, with 4 possible answers for each item: 1) not a problem; 2) minor problem; 3) serious problem; 4) very serious problem.

In addition, participants are asked if over the last month they have 1) been victimised in any way ; 2) had any negative experiences involving bureaucratic personnel or state officials; 3) had experiences that made them feel happy and gave them hope for the future (open questions).
From enrolment to the end of the study (40 weeks)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Tilburg University

Collaborators

Stichting tot steun VCVGZ

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

December 17, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 7, 2025

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 7, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 19, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 8, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

March 25, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 25, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 8, 2025

Last Verified

January 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • TLS_RP1253
  • IC2024-1 (Other Grant/Funding Number: Tilburg University Fund)
  • 300.6700 3613 (Other Grant/Funding Number: Stichting tot Steun VCVGZ)
  • 305.6700 3614 (Other Grant/Funding Number: Stichting tot Steun VCVGZ)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

In accordance with Tilburg University's standards and considering the sensitivity of the data collected from asylum seekers, the availability for reuse of the data will be subject to careful consideration and protection of privacy. The availability of the data for reuse will be determined on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the consent obtained from participants, any legal or ethical restrictions, and the level of identifiability of the data. To protect the privacy and confidentiality of the asylum seekers, data sharing will be done in a controlled manner.The availability of the data for reuse will be determined on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the consent obtained from participants, any legal or ethical restrictions, and the level of identifiability of the data.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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