Anxiety and depression are the most prevalent mental health disorders among young adults, leading to debilitating outcomes. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in the use of video games to prevent and treat mental health problems. Insight into the motivational factors that influence game selection and engagement will inform us on how to tailor the promotion of mental health games. The primary aims of the current study were to examine whether motivation to change, emotion mindset, and stress mindset influenced (a) the choice for, and (b) engagement with, a game promoted as a mental health game. The secondary aim was to examine whether emotion and stress mindsets changed after playing a game promoted as a mental health game.

Young adults (n = 129; 95 women; 82.2% university students) with elevated mental health symptoms viewed two trailers, in which the same commercial video game was presented as a mental health game and as an entertainment game.

Results showed that motivation to change and mindsets did not influence game choice, and participants who chose the mental health trailer played the game for a similar period of time as participants who chose the entertainment trailer, regardless of their motivation to change or mindsets. Additionally, after gameplay participants who chose the mental health trailer reported a decrease in the belief that the effects of stress are debilitating. These results suggest that video games aiming to improve mental health may benefit from promoting the game’s mental health benefits.

焦虑和抑郁是年轻人中最普遍的心理健康障碍，导致衰弱的结果。最近，人们对使用视频游戏预防和治疗心理健康问题的兴趣日益浓厚。对影响游戏选择和参与度的动机因素的深入了解将使我们了解如何定制心理健康游戏的推广。当前研究的主要目的是检验改变的动机，情绪思维方式和压力思维方式是否影响（a）推广为心理健康游戏的游戏的选择和（b）参与。次要目的是研究在玩升级为心理健康游戏的游戏后，情绪和压力的心态是否改变。

 具有较高心理健康症状的年轻成年人（n = 129； 95名女性； 82.2％的大学生）观看了两个预告片，其中，同一商业视频游戏被介绍为心理健康游戏和娱乐游戏。

结果表明，改变动机和心态不会影响游戏选择，并且选择心理健康预告片的参与者玩游戏的时间与选择娱乐预告片的参与者相似，而不论他们的改变动机或心态如何。此外，在选择心理健康预告片的游戏参与者之后，他们报告说，对压力的影响正在减弱的信念有所减少。这些结果表明，旨在改善心理健康的视频游戏可能会从促进游戏的心理健康获益中受益。