813
Views
3
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Life Matters: Exploring the Influence of Games and Mental Skills on Relatedness and Social Anxiety Levels in Disengaged Adolescent Students

&
Pages 205-219 | Received 03 Jun 2018, Accepted 06 Dec 2018, Published online: 14 Jan 2019
 

Abstract

LifeMatters is a 10-session life skills program implemented with youth that uses mental skills training and games to meet the three basic psychological needs of relatedness, autonomy, and competence. Forty disengaged students (20 experimental, 20 control) 16–17 years of age from a YMCA vocational school completed self-report measures before and after the intervention period. The school focuses on services for adolescents who find it difficult to gain an education through mainstream education due to behavioral and developmental issues. Mixed between-within subjects analyses of variance showed that there was a significant decrease in social anxiety, Wilks’s λ = .84, F(1, 26) = 5.07, p = .03, partial η2 = .16, and a significant increase in relatedness Wilks’s λ = .87, F(1, 26) = 4.2, p = .05, partial η2 = .14, over time for the experimental group compared to the control group. Analyses of covariance showed no significant difference between the two groups in change on social anxiety levels, F(1, 25) = 1.34, p = .26, partial η2 = .05, when controlling for relatedness, and no significant difference between the two groups in change in relatedness levels, F(1, 25) = 1.34, p = .26, partial η2 = .05, when controlling for social anxiety. This study provides insight into the potential effectiveness of using games and mental skills training to increase relatedness and decrease levels of social anxiety in disengaged students.

Lay Summary: LifeMatters is a life skills program combining mental skills training and physically active games. Disengaged students who took part in the program reported lower levels of social anxiety and higher levels of relatedness compared to students who did not take part.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 61.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 198.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.