DND Mental Health Research: What 10 Articles and Studies Tell Us About the Benefits of TTRPGs
Researchers around the world are beginning to study the social, emotional, and mental health benefits of Dungeons & Dragons and other TTRPGs.
It’s no secret that we like to tout the mental health benefits of Dungeons & Dragons around here: we’ve talked about how it can be helpful for kids with social anxiety and depression, as well as boosting social-emotional and leadership skills. But why should you take our word for it? After all, we’re trying to convince you to enroll your child or teen in our online D&D games.
Fortunately, we’re not the only people getting interested in the mental health benefits of D&D: therapists and educators are taking notice, too. And research is starting to come in to back up the idea that tabletop roleplaying games have a lot to offer when it comes to emotional wellbeing.
Today, I’m sharing 10 articles and studies that have investigated how D&D and other roleplaying games can be used to help kids, teens, and adults feel happier and healthier. I specifically looked for studies that used “harder” forms of research, like standardized tests, instead of just interviews. I also wanted to find research that focused on kids and teens, since that’s who we work with here at Young Dragonslayers™.
I’ve done the Google searches and reviewed the abstracts so you don’t have to. Join me on this journey of discovery, where we’ll see how D&D affects everything from creativity to consensus-building, and can even create more morally upstanding individuals. Where else would you find a study that analyzes a D&D party’s Facebook group chat? If you’re going to be stuck conducting (or reading) research, this is a pretty fun field to be in.
Without further ado, here are 10 studies supporting the mental health benefits of Dungeons & Dragons:
Study 1: Roleplaying Games Increase Creative Thinking
The study: Table-top role playing game and creativity, Tsui-shan Chung, 2013.
The idea: This study looked at whether D&D could potentially be used as a tool to help people become more creative. According to the study, it’s commonly believed that creativity is something you’re born with. However, the research is showing that’s not really the case: anyone can become more creative with practice, and imagination-based activities like D&D can help.
The research: To test this idea, researchers gave adults a written exam that scored their abilityt o use three different kinds of creative thinking. Adults were divided into three categories. The first group consisted of people who play tabletop roleplaying games like D&D. The second group consisted of people who play video games with roleplay elements, like MMORPGs. The third group consisted of people who did not play any games at all.
The results: The tabletop roleplayers performed better on the creativity test in all three areas. In particular, the RPG players exceled at something called divergent thinking. This is the psychological term for being able to come up with many unique ways to deal with a problem. Essentially, you’re a creative brainstormer. Interestingly, the non-gamers scored in the middle, and the video gamers scored lowest in this particular study.
Researchers concluded that roleplaying games like D&D could be useful creativity building tools, especially since they don’t require lots of special equipment or training to play.
Study 2: D&D Helps Socially Anxious People Feel More Confident
Studies suggest that tabletop roleplaying games can help socially anxious people feel more connected, as well as boost their confidence and overall ability to cope.
The study: Table-top role-playing games as a therapeutic intervention with adults to increase social connectedness, Abbott et al., 2022
The idea: The researchers behind this study were looking for new ways to help therapists better treat social anxiety. According to the study, social anxiety can be hard to treat. What’s more, people throughout the United States are reporting that they’re more lonely and less socially connected than they used to be, which is linked to increased anxiety and depression. Could D&D be used as part of group therapy to help socially anxious folks feel more supported?
The research: This study followed group therapy participants who played D&D together as part of their treatment for a year. Researchers interviewed the players about their experiences in the group and whether it had impacted their anxiety.
The results: Researchers found that group participants felt more confident in social situations and more able to cope with unexpected situations or mistakes. According to the researchers, these skills translated into life outside the game, increasing players’ confidence in real world situations.
Study 3: Roleplayers Are More Empathetic People
The study: Empathic Features and Absorption in Fantasy Role-Playing, Rivers et al., 2016
The idea: This study’s researchers hypothesized that people who regularly play roleplaying games would be more empathetic than those who don’t. Earlier studies have already shown a link between people with vivid imaginations and high empathy. Apparently, being able to absorb yourself in a story means you’re also capable of putting yourself in someone else’s shoes.
The research: 127 roleplayers volunteered to take 2 standardized tests: the Davis Interpersonal Reactivity Index, which measures your empathy, and the Tellegen Absorbtion Scale, which measures your ability to be fully immersed in a fantasy world.
The results: The roleplayers scored higher than a control group of non-roleplayers on both tests. Researchers concluded that roleplayers have “a uniquely empathically-imaginative style.” By imagining pretend scenarios, D&D players are also imagining how other people must feel when put into these situations. Based on this study, it’s unclear whether D&D makes people more empathetic, or whether empathetic people are drawn to games like D&D. Either way, you’re likely to find a caring group of people gathered around a D&D table.
Study 4: Youth Learn Positive Morals Through D&D
Could gaming be a force for good? Research on roleplaying seems to suggest it can develop our sense of morality.
The study: Imaginative Role-Playing as a Medium for Moral Development: Dungeons & Dragons Provides Moral Training, Wright et al., 2020
The idea: We’ve all heard the concerns about violent video games potentially making kids more violent in real life—although the evidence to support this claim is mixed. But what about imaginative games, like D&D? Investigators on this study wanted to find out if roleplaying games could be a positive influence on kids, leading to more moral behavior.
The research: 12 college students participated in a series of D&D-inspired games that presented them with moral dillemas they had to figure out as a group: for example, whether or not to torture a prisoner to obtain information. These students took standardized tests that measure moral reasoning and self-understanding before and after the gaming program. Their scores were compared to a group of their peers who did not play the games, in order to see if they’d become more moral by comparison.
The results: The gaming students showed significant growth in their moral development, while the nongaming students did not. The study found that D&D can be used as a “moral training ground” for young people due to its ability to encourage debate, collaboration, and negotiation with your fellow players. The researchers note that this kind of roleplay can be especially helpful for teens and young adults, who are learning to appreciate shades of gray when it comes to what makes a person a “hero” or “villain.'“
Study 6: TTRPGs Help Autistic Kids and Teens with Communication and Friendship
The study: Employing Tabletop Role-Playing Games (TRPGs) in Social Communication Support Measures for Children and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Japan: A Hands-On Report on the Use of Leisure Activities, Katō & Kōhei, 2019
The idea: Researchers analyzed 2 studies to see if Tabletop Role-Playing Games (TTRPGs) were beneficial activities for middle and high school students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
The research: These two studies were conducted using middle and high school students in Japan. The first study was very small: only 4 middle school students with ASD participated. Researchers analyzed their social communication and ability to reach consensus as a group before and after playing 14 sessions of a TTRPG. The second study was larger: 55 autistic high school students were given a questionnaire to measure their quality of life before and after participating in a 5 monthly TTRPG sessions.
The results: Although the first study was small, analysis showed “remarkable” improvement in social communication, including more consensus-building conversations held during TTRPG sessions. The high school students also showed positive results, too. Their quality of life scores went up, especially in the areas of “emotional well-being” and “friends”. According to researchers, students were aware of the progress they had made in communicating with others.
Study 7: Roleplaying Games Help Gifted Kids Regulate Emotions
This article described how tabletop roleplaying games could be used in therapy to help gifted kids develop their social and emotional regulation abilities.
The study: Using group roleplaying games with gifted children and adolescents: A psychosocial intervention model, Rosselet & Stauffer, 2013
The idea: Gifted children are often intellectually advanced, but they may fall behind their peers when it comes to social and emotional skills. Researchers wanted to investigate whether roleplaying games could serve as play therapy to help gifted kids learn and practice social and emotional skills in a group setting.
The research: This is a case study that following the progress of kids and teens who participated in roleplaying games as group therapy. Group leaders designed the games to help players practice specific skills, including creativity, self-awareness, and collaboration.
The results: Based on the results of their case study, researchers concluded that roleplaying games were effective in helping gifted kids improve both intra-personal skills (like emotional awareness and self-regulation) as well as interpersonal skills (like communication and teamwork). The researchers recommend that roleplaying games should be considered more often as a form of therapy, due to their ability to encourage positive social-emotional growth.
Study 8: D&D Guides Players Through Mental Health Recovery
The study: Defeating dragons and demons: perspectives on mental health recovery in roleplaying games, Causo and Quinlan, 2021
The idea: The researchers leading this study wanted to hear from D&D players who were recovering from mental illness. Specifically, they wanted to see if any similarities came up in their stories related to how D&D had improved their mental health.
The research: Researchers used a process called narrative inquiry to interview 13 D&D players about their experiences playing the game while also recovering from a serious mental health diagnosis. Players were asked what aspects of playing D&D they had found most helpful. Their responses were analyzed to look for common themes.
The results: The players named these 5 aspects of D&D as being helpful for their mental health:
experiencing through their characters
skill building
having distance from their mental health symptoms
safely handling difficult emotions
building positive relationships.
Interestingly, players also said that their D&D adventures mirrored their own journed toward improved mental health. Through their games, players moved through all 5 steps of the recovery model, starting in a place of hopelessness and then moving toward increased awareness, preparation, rebuilding, and growth.
Studies 9 and 10: D&D Offers Emotional Benefits in Non-Therapy Groups, Too
Even outside of a therapy office, regular players of D&D may find that the game helps them to process difficult feelings, feel a sense of belonging, and reduce stress.
The studies: Exploring mental dungeons and slaying psychic dragons: an exploratory study, Sargent, 2014. Needs met through role-playing games: A fantasy theme analysis of Dungeons & Dragons, Adams, 2013.
The idea: Most of the studies in this post focus on how roleplaying games can be used as a part of therapy. However, these two studies are different: they look at the therapeutic benefits people can get just by playing regular D&D. By interviewing players and analyzing the themes in their games, both of these researchers wanted to see how players were working through their emotions, stress, and even trauma on their own.
The research: The first study is a small one: a thesis project from a social work grad student at Smith College. He interviewed 6 people who regularly played D&D, asking open-ended questions about the storylines of their games, their experiences within the D&D community, and how they felt playing D&D had benefited them.
The second study analyzed 3 years’ worth of Facebook chats between 9 longtime participants of a D&D group. The researcher used a process called Fantasy Theme Analysis to identify themes that frequently came up in their conversation, with the goal of learning how the fantasy world of D&D was helping the players meet their real-world social and emotional needs.
The results: The players interviewed in the first study said that D&D was a way to manage stress and reduce social anxiety by experimenting and exploring emotions in a fictional world. Interestingly, 5 of the 6 players were survivors of childhood trauma who said they worked through some of their trauma experiences through game play. In addition to the in-game benefits, players also said that being part of a community added a helpful sense of meaning and belonging.
In the second study, the researcher identified 4 fairly universal themes in the participants’ group chat: democratic ideologies (giving power to the people), friendship maintenance, extraordinary experiences, and good vs. evil. Based on his analysis, the researcher concluded that although the players were creating a fantasy story together, they were using that story as a metaphor or a symbol to meet their real-life social and emotional needs.
Convinced? Try Our Online D&D Games for Kids & Teens
Exploring a fantasy world gives kids the opportunity to work through real life issues, within the safety of a supportive friend group.
I’m a therapist in my non-D&D life, and I first turned to Dungeons and Dragons as a way to help the kids on my counseling caseload through the early pandemic. As it turns out, I wasn’t alone: lots of us were using D&D as a way to cope and stay connected during quarantine. Even though we’re back to “real life”, there still seems to be a lot of value for kids and teens in exploring a fantasy world with friends.
Our goal with Young Dragonslayers™ is to create positive, consistent social experiences for kids. We do our best to pair players with peers that we think they’ll get along with, based on their age, personality, and familiarity with the game. All our games are facilitated by adults who work with kids—typically as educators or mental health workers—in their non-gaming lives. We strive to create inclusive, welcoming environments where kids can explore and try out new identities, work through difficult feelings, and experience the community and camaraderie that so many of these studies describe.
If you’d like to enroll your child in an upcoming game, you can fill out an application here. You can learn more about us by checking out our FAQ page, and reading more about how our D&D games work. We hope to see you in a Zoom call soon!