We are looking for 13- to 18-year-olds to participate in a research study examining how daily use of the app Amaru: The Self-Care Virtual Pet influences teens' mental health.
Findings from this study may improve the treatment of anxious and depressive disorders in adolescents. This will benefit individuals who suffer from anxiety or depression and the professionals who help them.
If you choose to participate in this study, you will be compensated with the unlocked full version of the app and up to $20. Parents will be compensated up to $10. You must have a phone or tablet to participate in this study and cannot have played Amaru before.
The study involves:
- Complete a screener to determine eligibility.
- Parents complete the consent for the study, the demographics questionnaire, and the symptom questionnaire (10 minutes).
- Adolescents complete the assent for the study and the questionnaires (20–30 minutes).
- Adolescents receive the full version of the game and play daily for 10–30 minutes a day.
- Adolescents complete the questionnaires again at week 4 (20–30 minutes).
- After eight weeks of play, adolescents complete the last set of questionnaires and respond to some questions about interest and engagement with the game (30 minutes). Parents will complete one last survey as well (five minutes).
Anyone interested in the study can reach out to the researchers (below) or follow this link to provide initial information.
If you are interested in learning more about the Amaru study, please contact Sarah Gann at Indiana University of Pennsylvania at cckbc@iup.edu or contact Stephanie Davis at sdavis@iup.edu.
This project has been approved by the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Institutional Review Board for the protection of human subjects (724-357-7730).