Research on Alleviating Children’s Nighttime Fear Using a Digital Game

Nighttime fear is common among children and may negatively affect their growth. Given the positive role of digital games in regulating children’s emotions, in this study, we proposed principles for the design of a digital game to alleviate children’s nighttime fears and developed a game prototype ba...

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Main Authors: Wen Huei Chou, Han-Xing Chen, Ching-Chih Hsu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-03-01
Series:Children
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/9/3/405
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author Wen Huei Chou
Han-Xing Chen
Ching-Chih Hsu
author_facet Wen Huei Chou
Han-Xing Chen
Ching-Chih Hsu
author_sort Wen Huei Chou
collection DOAJ
description Nighttime fear is common among children and may negatively affect their growth. Given the positive role of digital games in regulating children’s emotions, in this study, we proposed principles for the design of a digital game to alleviate children’s nighttime fears and developed a game prototype based on a survey of children and their parents. In order to verify whether digital games can reduce children’s fears, the Koala Fear Questionnaire (KFQ) was used to assess the effectiveness of the game prototype in an experiment. We adopted a quasi-experimental design with non-randomized samples, including 47 subjects in the experimental group (EG) and 49 subjects in the control group (CG). The results of the analysis show that the children in the EG displayed an obvious decrease in their fear of the objects that appeared in the game. Moreover, for some children with a moderate level of fear, playing digital games could significantly reduce their fear. Therefore, this preliminary study suggests that digital games have a positive effect on alleviating children’s nighttime fears.
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spelling doaj.art-db40698a9b144848828d150b590d2c012023-11-24T00:47:38ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672022-03-019340510.3390/children9030405Research on Alleviating Children’s Nighttime Fear Using a Digital GameWen Huei Chou0Han-Xing Chen1Ching-Chih Hsu2Graduate School of Design, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Yunlin 64002, TaiwanGraduate School of Design, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Yunlin 64002, TaiwanGraduate School of Design, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Yunlin 64002, TaiwanNighttime fear is common among children and may negatively affect their growth. Given the positive role of digital games in regulating children’s emotions, in this study, we proposed principles for the design of a digital game to alleviate children’s nighttime fears and developed a game prototype based on a survey of children and their parents. In order to verify whether digital games can reduce children’s fears, the Koala Fear Questionnaire (KFQ) was used to assess the effectiveness of the game prototype in an experiment. We adopted a quasi-experimental design with non-randomized samples, including 47 subjects in the experimental group (EG) and 49 subjects in the control group (CG). The results of the analysis show that the children in the EG displayed an obvious decrease in their fear of the objects that appeared in the game. Moreover, for some children with a moderate level of fear, playing digital games could significantly reduce their fear. Therefore, this preliminary study suggests that digital games have a positive effect on alleviating children’s nighttime fears.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/9/3/405nighttime fearchild’s feardigital game designadventure game
spellingShingle Wen Huei Chou
Han-Xing Chen
Ching-Chih Hsu
Research on Alleviating Children’s Nighttime Fear Using a Digital Game
Children
nighttime fear
child’s fear
digital game design
adventure game
title Research on Alleviating Children’s Nighttime Fear Using a Digital Game
title_full Research on Alleviating Children’s Nighttime Fear Using a Digital Game
title_fullStr Research on Alleviating Children’s Nighttime Fear Using a Digital Game
title_full_unstemmed Research on Alleviating Children’s Nighttime Fear Using a Digital Game
title_short Research on Alleviating Children’s Nighttime Fear Using a Digital Game
title_sort research on alleviating children s nighttime fear using a digital game
topic nighttime fear
child’s fear
digital game design
adventure game
url https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/9/3/405
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