[{"command":"add_css","data":[{"rel":"stylesheet","media":"all","href":"\/sites\/default\/files\/css\/css_-kTcRwkqPhQLsqEvdSSyU2XZ3CV5VEleXoE3_xZi2cg.css?delta=0\u0026language=mt\u0026theme=hm_theme\u0026include=eJxLzi9K1U8pKi1IzNErSa0oSSxKTdQtSi3OrEoFAJQ3Cqw"}]},{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/mt\/article\/modal\/6959\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n        \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n  \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea resize-vertical ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EThe video games that improve kids\u2019 social skills\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EImagine racing through a virtual labyrinth against an alien and losing. Given the chance to rerun the race \u2013 which you don\u2019t know is stacked against you \u2013 or quit, how many times would you try again?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe answer for most children is four or five, according to Dr Daniel Pe\u00f1a, a clinical psychologist at Alava Reyes, a psychology centre in Madrid, Spain. If a child gives up after the first go or keeps going time after time, it could signal a problem with their ability to manage frustration.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe race is just one scenario in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/rcn\/204247_en.html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EGomins\u003C\/a\u003E, a games app designed by Alava Reyes to help parents detect emotional or social problems in children aged between four and 12.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We frustrate children in the video games and then observe their response,\u2019 said Dr Pe\u00f1a. \u2018(In the alien race) children with trouble in the competency tend to give up too soon or too late.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Pe\u00f1a says the point of the app is to test skills such as stress control, decision-making, emotional recognition and tolerance. Throughout a game, the app records the child\u2019s responses in order to flag behavioural issues. Pressing a particular button repeatedly could indicate problems with impulsivity, for example.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt also uses artificial intelligence to assess the child\u2019s facial expressions as they play the game, which are captured through the camera on the mobile device. The results, which Dr Pe\u00f1a says are based on extensive research of what constitutes normal behaviour, appear in the parents\u2019 part of the app and are double-checked against a questionnaire for parents about their child\u2019s behaviour.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe app, which is designed to be used in the child\u2019s normal environment, is not intended to replace psychological diagnoses, but can be a simple way of carrying out an initial screening. As part of the development, it was tested in a clinical setting to compare its ability to detect emotional problems with professional methods.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018For emotional problems like depression and anxiety, the reliability is quite good,\u2019 said Dr Pe\u00f1a. \u2018We share about 30-40% of the variance with the clinical tools. Video games are (a) less reliable tool to assess children but (you can) imagine a child at home is more prone to play a video game than to do a long set of questions.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@alignleft@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022Video games are being used to highlight problems with impulse control or frustration. Image credit - Alava Reyes\u0022 height=\u0022959\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/IMCEUpload\/Gomins%20Labyrinth.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022Video games are being used to highlight problems with impulse control or frustration. Image credit - Alava Reyes\u0022 width=\u00221316\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022italic mb-4\u0022\u003EVideo games are being used to highlight problems with impulse control or frustration. Image credit - Alava Reyes\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMissions\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith each problem comes a mission designed to improve that behaviour. Parents and their children are set tasks including practical activities and family games that last from seven to 20 days that focus on specific goals. With impulse control, for example, the aim is to learn patience or the importance of stopping and thinking.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA further trial of the app\u2019s reliability will be carried out in December to test the effect of the facial expression analysis. While a beta version of the app in Spanish and English is already available \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gomins.es\/gomins-game\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Eonline\u003C\/a\u003E, the plan is for it to be further improved before it is rolled out and marketed more widely, probably in 2019.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDetecting emotional and social problems early in life can have a lasting impact for a child. In 2015, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4605168\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Ea report showed\u003C\/a\u003E that five-year-olds with more positive social behaviour, known as prosocial skills, went on to have better education, careers and mental health and were less likely to engage in substance abuse or criminal behaviour by the age of 25.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDigital services company Atos coordinates a project called \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/rcn\/194170_en.html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EProSocialLearn\u003C\/a\u003E which developed a suite of video games to help children aged seven to 10 improve social skills such as teamwork\u003Cspan style=\u0022text-decoration: line-through;\u0022\u003Eing\u003C\/span\u003E, trust worthiness and emotional intelligence.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe seven games are designed to be used in schools. One two-player game, called Path of Trust, requires one child to guide another along paths, as if they were blind, and then decide how to share the benefits of reaching a goal.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETools for teachers allow them to monitor the progress of children so that they can adapt the content according to their needs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile the games follow methodologies designed to improve social skills that are guided by psychologists and studies carried out in the first part of the project, Pilar Perez Berganza says that the main difference between these and other educational games is that they are engaging.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Until now, there is a problem that games for fun are very good, but games for learning usually are boring and not very well designed. And this has been overcome.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022text-center text-blue font-bold text-2xl w-full lg:w-1\/2 border-2 border-blue p-12 my-8 lg:m-12 lg:-ml-16 float-left\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Cspan class=\u0022text-5xl rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n  \u003Cp class=\u0022font-serif italic\u0022\u003E\u0026#039;(If we are) able to improve the social skills of children and improve their integration in schools \u2026 in the end they have less problems to integrate in their adult (working) life.\u0026#039;\u003C\/p\u003E\n  \u003Cfooter\u003E\n    \u003Ccite class=\u0022not-italic font-normal text-sm text-black\u0022\u003EPilar Perez Berganza, Project Manager, Atos\u003C\/cite\u003E\n  \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESelf-perception\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team carried out a pilot study of their games in four countries \u2013 Italy, UK, Greece and Spain \u2013 to compare the social skills of those who played the games against those who didn\u2019t. They found a small boost in a child\u2019s self-perception when the games were played, and a short-term boost in how favourably a teacher assessed a child\u2019s social skills.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThey also built a suite of tools and guidance to allow others to build prosocial games, and are working to establish a spin-off company to continue that work.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBerganza hopes that strengthening children\u2019s social skills through games such as these could help reduce the risk of social exclusion, which can have long-term impacts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We think that if we were able to improve the social skills of children and improve their integration in schools, they improve also their academic results and in the end they have less problems to integrate in their adult (working) life.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe research in this article was funded by the EU. 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