Currently submitted to: JMIR Serious Games
Date Submitted: Oct 22, 2026
Open Peer Review Period: Oct 23, 2026 - Dec 18, 2026
(currently open for review)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
The Effects of Video-Gaming on Mental Health in Families: An International Survey
ABSTRACT
Background:
There is debate about the impact of video games on mental health. Understanding the effects of video gaming within families remains limited.
Objective:
To understand how video games affect people's mental health and their families' mental health based on the frequency and type of games played
Methods:
This was a secondary quantitative analysis of an international cross-sectional online survey. The survey data were collected in September 2025 from participants in India, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US). The survey included 32 questions on demographics, video gaming habits, family relationships, mental health, social effects, loneliness, and family connections related to video gaming.
Results:
Of N=2336 people from India, the UK, and the US who completed the survey, n=1558 were eligible for analysis. People who gamed occasionally or regularly reported significantly higher family closeness scores (P<.001). Family gaming frequency (gaming together as a family) was significantly associated with stronger familial bonds (P<.001), while moderate gaming correlated with fewer conflicts, and frequent gaming produced mixed results. Shared family gaming frequency acted as a key predictor of both emotional closeness and communication comfort within households. Educational background did not significantly influence game-type preference (P=.78), with ‘Action and Adventure’ games dominating across all education levels. Participants with a diagnosed mental health condition(s) (n=269; 17.3%) were significantly more likely to report improvement in mood after video gaming (P<.001). The respondents with higher communication openness reported substantially lower loneliness (ρ=−0.68, P<.001). A large proportion, n=1186 (76.1%), would recommend family gaming to other families seeking to improve their relationships, especially when playing ‘Family and Party’ games, which appeared very effective at strengthening relationships with both parents and grandparents.
Conclusions:
To our knowledge, this is the first international, cross-cultural survey analysis examining the relationship between family video gaming and mental health outcomes. Video gaming, practised in moderation, was associated with significant social and emotional outcomes for mental health across diverse populations. Because the data were cross-sectional and self-reported, interpret the findings as associations rather than causal effects. Clinical Trial: N/A
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