Developing a gamified app to help 8–12-year-olds with depression manage everyday stressors
Assessment of Stressors in Children With Depressive Symptoms for the Development of an App to Strengthen Emotional Competences Using Serious Games and Gamification.
This project will ask children ages 8–12 with increased depressive symptoms and their parents about daily stressors and coping to help design a gamified app that tries to teach emotion regulation.
Quick facts
| Study type | Observational |
|---|---|
| Enrollment | 15 (estimated) |
| Ages | 8 Years to 12 Years |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | Ludwig-Maximilians - University of Munich Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (München, Bavaria) |
| Trial ID | NCT07159347 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this trial studies
The project conducts a participatory needs assessment with children aged 8–12 who have increased depressive symptoms and their parents to inform the development of a gamified emotion-regulation app. Researchers will use child interviews, parent focus groups, and questionnaires to identify common everyday stressors, current coping strategies, and preferred types of support. Inclusion is based on elevated depressive symptoms by child self-report (Beck Depression Inventory for Youth T-score > 60) or parental rating (DISYPS-III FBB-DES Stanine ≥ 7), with exclusions for acute suicidality, psychotic disorders, severe developmental disorders, substance-induced disorders, or insufficient German. Findings will directly guide game scenarios and features to ensure they are age-appropriate, relevant, and acceptable to the target group before building the app.
Who should consider this trial
Good fit: Children aged 8–12 with increased depressive symptoms by the specified self- or parent-report cutoffs and a parent willing to participate, who can communicate in German and are not acutely suicidal or affected by exclusionary disorders.
Not a fit: Children with acute suicidality, psychotic disorders, severe developmental disorders, substance-related disorders, or insufficient German skills are not appropriate for this project and are unlikely to benefit from the app as studied here.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the project could produce a low-threshold, playful tool that helps children practice emotion-regulation skills and complements professional treatment.
How similar studies have performed: Digital and game-based interventions for youth mental health have shown promise, but gamified emotion-regulation apps specifically targeted to 8–12-year-olds remain an emerging area with limited direct evidence.
Eligibility criteria
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria (Children): * increased depressive symptoms indicated by either (1) self report assessed with Beck Depression Inventory for Youth 2 (Beck et al., 2019; T-score \> 60) , or (2) parental report assessed with DISYPS-III - external rating scale for depressive disorders (FBB-DES; Döpfner et al., 2017; applying gender- and age-normed Stanine scores ≥ 7). Exclusion Criteria (Children): * Insufficient German language skills * Acute suicidality * Schizophrenic disorder * Severe developmental disorder * Mental and behavioral disorders due to psychotropic substances Inclusion Criteria (Parents): Parent of a child meeting the above inclusion criteria
Where this trial is running
München, Bavaria
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital — München, Bavaria, Germany (Recruiting)
Study contacts
- Principal investigator: Gerd Schulte-Körne, Prof. Dr. — Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital
- Study coordinator: Lisa Feldmann, Dr.
- Email: Lisa.Feldmann@med.uni-muenchen.de
- Phone: +49 (0)89 4400 56920
How to participate
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Visit the official trial page on ClinicalTrials.gov for the most current contact information and recruitment status.
- Contact the listed study coordinator or principal investigator to request pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.