AUTHOR=Buday Jozef , Neumann Miroslav , Heidingerová Jana , Michalec Jirí , Podgorná Gabriela , Mareš Tadeáš , Pol Marek , Mahrík Jakub , Vranková Stanislava , Kališová Lucie , Anders Martin TITLE=Depiction of mental illness and psychiatry in popular video games over the last 20 years JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry VOLUME=13 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.967992 DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2022.967992 ISSN=1664-0640 ABSTRACT=

Video games represent a rapidly growing media form that is a daily activity for many youths. So far, only a little attention has been paid to the portrayal of mental illnesses and psychiatric intervention within them. In our research, we explored the best-selling video games released between 2002–2021 in order to analyse these representations. We came to the conclusion that approximately 1 out of 10 popular games attempts to portray symptoms of mental illness – with a majority of 75% of them in a negative and stereotypical way. Despite the majority of mental illness depiction in popular video games being negative, there are mounting reports that certain representations have a positive impact on their player bases. Further studies are required, as to how much videogames influence the player's attitude toward this topic.