Press Play to Assess: Development of a Predictive Model for early identification of depression using in-game behaviour data

Project ID: 2228cd1443 (You will need this ID for your application)

Under Offer

Research Theme: Information and Communication Technologies

UCL Lead department: Division of Psychology and Lang Sciences

Project Summary:

Gaming, a leading leisure activity worldwide offers many benefits and helps to satisfy their mental and social needs. Yet for a growing population, consuming games may cause be harmful due to their depression, one of the largest mental health problems worldwide. Recent work shows a link between increased spent time video gaming and severity of depression. Early interventions are a key component to lower the severe effects of depression. Building on our successful work in the realm of anxiety assessment, we suggest harnessing in-game behavioural data to develop behavioural markers for detecting early signs of depression. Like social anxiety, also individuals with depression tend to spend more time in digital games, providing a rich source for behavioural data inside of the games as well as game choices as data points for predictive models for depression. Therefore, this research project will

develop a predictive model detecting elevated signs for depression through in-game behaviour of off-the shelf games.
explore which aspects of the game are harmful for players with depression,
prototype a prevention technique harnessing the predictive model and testing it’s efficacy helping players to become more resilient

The student will learn how to bring together knowledge in digital mental health, game development and artificial intelligence to develop a sophisticated predictive model for depression. This extends beyond ‘simple’ data analysis by including aspects about communicating the results and ways how the predictive model may be embedded to promote a more mindful gaming behaviour. The student will acquire knowledge of different patterns of digital mental health assessments, and the usage of technology in the realm of public health. Working closely with clinical psychology expert this research project offers the unique to the student opportunity to gain hands-on experience on how AI can be applied in the realm of mental health.