The effectiveness of game-based meditation therapy for traumatized adolescents in residential care: a randomized controlled trial (PREPRINT)

Aim: Many adolescents in residential care have experienced traumatic events and suffer from posttraumatic stress. This study examined the effectiveness of Muse, a game-based meditation intervention, as an addition to treatment as usual (TAU) for traumatized adolescents in residential care.Methods: Seventy-seven traumatized adolescents (10 – 18 years old) received either Muse and TAU (n = 37) or treatment as usual alone (n = 40). TAU consisted of evidence-based treatments that did not specifically target posttraumatic symptoms. Outcomes were measured at T1, T2, and two-months follow-up (FU). Primary outcomes were posttraumatic symptoms (self-report and mentor-report) and stress (self-report) at T2. Secondary outcomes included anxiety, depression, and aggression at T2, and all outcomes at follow-up.Results: The Muse group showed significantly greater improvements than the control group at T2 regarding self-reported posttraumatic symptoms, stress, anxiety, depression, and aggression. Mentor reports showed marginally significant decreases in posttraumatic stress at T2. There were no differences between the groups at FU, except for a marginally significant difference in self-reported posttraumatic symptoms, where the Muse participants showed larger decreases.Conclusions: Game-based meditation therapy is a promising intervention that is more effective than treatment as usual alone. Implications of these findings for the role of game-based meditation interventions for traumatized adolescents in residential care are discussed.