Background: Despite increasing evidence for the effectiveness of Serious Games (SG), research and the implementation of such digital measures in mental health care lags behind. Insights into...Show moreBackground: Despite increasing evidence for the effectiveness of Serious Games (SG), research and the implementation of such digital measures in mental health care lags behind. Insights into attitudes and their influencing factors for professionals and clients of mental health care are assumed to facilitate the implementation and development of SG. Objective: This study aimed to gain a greater understanding of the attitudes of professionals and clients of mental health care towards SG and factors that influence (media usage, gaming experience) and moderate that relationship (age, gender). Method: A cross-sectional online survey with a quantitative study design was conducted with professionals (N = 166) and (former) clients of mental health care (N = 154). Two independent samples t-tests were conducted to study the influence of media usage and gaming experience on attitude towards SG, whereas four ANCOVAs were applied to examine the moderating effects of age and gender. Results: Media usage and gaming experience did not significantly influence the attitude towards SG in both samples. Also, age and gender did not significantly moderate the studied relationship. Conclusion: The factors media usage and gaming experience and the moderators age and gender do not contribute to a greater understanding of the attitude towards SG. Following these variables cannot facilitate the implementation and development of SG in mental health care. Based on the chosen sampling and measurement methods, the collected data was not considered representative of the studied population and statistical analysis were conducted with reduced power.Show less
