Research
Hero Journey Club is grounded in and is producing forward thinking research
Below is an overview of what we know. But there is still so much to learn.
If you are interested in collaborating with us as we explore the impact of games and gaming communities on health, we’d love to hear from you.
Eye on the Evidence. Always.
With more than 50 peer-reviewed scientific articles in the published literature on the positive impact of games and community on health, we’re dedicated to working with the scientists in this area and expanding knowledge for everyone.
Our expert team and collaborators in psychology, gaming, and community health have PhDs and Masters degrees in psychology, neuroscience, statistics, and clinical work. We are actively pursuing scientific discoveries about all aspects of gaming, community and health, and we hope making the world a happier, healthier place.
Current research aims cut across many disciplines and areas of health, including psychological flexibility, supporting marginalized communities, reducing loneliness, understanding mechanisms of change, natural language processing and AI, pro-social networks, healing communities, and more.
Games Are Not the Problem, Loneliness and Isolation Are
The first ten years of video games and well-being research focused on feared negative effects (roughly 2000 to 2010). Notwithstanding the bias towards negative effects, it was found that problematic game use was a symptom of ill mental health and not a cause. The following ten years (2010 to 2020) began to explore potential positive effects of video games and evidence has amassed for benefits to physical health, cognitive health, mental health, and social health.
If you’re interested in a more in-depth discussion, read our white paper summary!
Community and Individual Support That Works
The Campaign to End Loneliness recently conducted a review of interventions that work, and they all have the following in common with our program:
1. Offer opportunities to learn and build emotional and social skills
2. Offer opportunities to develop these skills in the context of discussion-based activities
3. Offer fun community-based activities around shared interests
How Effective Is Hero Journey Club’s Approach?
93% of members say they feel better after each session. 74% of those even report improvement on clinical measures (see chart below), as well as showing gains in psychological flexibility and well-being. Research is still ongoing, stay tuned for more!
Initial Results
374 Participants
LGBTQ2IA+ = 29%
BIPOC = 25%
Neurodivergent = 48 %
Men = 18%
143 Participants
LGBTQ2IA+ = 31.4%
BIPOC = 39.2%
Neurodivergent = 49 %
Men = 30%
Helping People Find Their People
Whoever you are, there’s a good chance a community of like-minded individuals is here waiting for you. Our Journeyers are extremely diverse and all are welcome!
Clinicians
How Hero Journey Club is a Complement to Therapy
Selected Articles
Research Inquiries
If you are interested in discussing research projects with Hero Journey Club, please reach out via the form below: