Literature Review
History of PTSD
Prior to the classification by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) as a distinct mental health disorder (APA, 1980), characteristic symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder have been identified and recorded throughout history. During the late 18th and early 19th century, the industrial revolution, despite being a man-made distressing event, was one of the first cases of PTSD external to a military conflict. Throughout the industrial revolution, civilians were diagnosed with what was called “railway brain”. According to Crocq et al., (2000), “railway brain was a mental symptom caused by microscopic lesions of the brain”. Moreover, such lesions of the brain were reported to be commonly associated with …show more content…
Yet, the last seventeen years of war in the middle east, has seen significant increase in the amount of combat veterans in search of treatment from various symptoms clusters of PTSD (Kang et al., 2003). In fact, twenty percent of veterans obtained PTSD from Operations Iraqi (OIF) and Enduring Freedom (OEF) alone (Kang et al., 2003). Meaning, for every 100 combat veterans who served during OIF and OEF, 20 combat veterans were exposed to a traumatic event (Kang et al., 2003). Moreover, when compared to previous wars such as the Vietnam War and the Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm), we postulate approximately 45 percent of combat veterans have are potentially living or have lived with PTSD (Kang et al., 2003). The escalating number of veterans seeking assistance for PTSD has raised concerns regarding appropriate treatment specific to traumatic exposure during combat related events and the barriers associated with delivering suitable …show more content…
Additionally, uses and gratification theory provides an assumption that different people require different social and psychological care that can be satisfied by media that is most relevant (Ruggiero, 2000). Active game play could potentially be an effective and efficient therapeutic approach by which children, youth and victims of traumatic events generate positive emotions. (Russoniello et al., 2009; Ryan et al., 2006). According to Russoniello et al., (2009), results from studies insinuate puzzle-type games (i.e. bejeweled I & II,) can increase a gamers mood, stimulate relaxation, and decrease anxiety. Moreover, (McGonigal, 2011) suggests there is an intense correlation regarding deep positive emotional experiences and video game engagement. For example, role-playing type games (i.e. World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy, Pokémon) were designed to offer players an arrangement of avatars, each an expert in their craft (i.e. healer, warrior, wizard), factions, character specific social behavior, advantages and susceptibilities. The intent of a role-playing type game is to foster reappraise emotional experiences, thereby providing instruction to gamers on the benefits of coping with their frustration and anxiety in adaptive behaviors
History of PTSD
Prior to the classification by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) as a distinct mental health disorder (APA, 1980), characteristic symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder have been identified and recorded throughout history. During the late 18th and early 19th century, the industrial revolution, despite being a man-made distressing event, was one of the first cases of PTSD external to a military conflict. Throughout the industrial revolution, civilians were diagnosed with what was called “railway brain”. According to Crocq et al., (2000), “railway brain was a mental symptom caused by microscopic lesions of the brain”. Moreover, such lesions of the brain were reported to be commonly associated with …show more content…
Yet, the last seventeen years of war in the middle east, has seen significant increase in the amount of combat veterans in search of treatment from various symptoms clusters of PTSD (Kang et al., 2003). In fact, twenty percent of veterans obtained PTSD from Operations Iraqi (OIF) and Enduring Freedom (OEF) alone (Kang et al., 2003). Meaning, for every 100 combat veterans who served during OIF and OEF, 20 combat veterans were exposed to a traumatic event (Kang et al., 2003). Moreover, when compared to previous wars such as the Vietnam War and the Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm), we postulate approximately 45 percent of combat veterans have are potentially living or have lived with PTSD (Kang et al., 2003). The escalating number of veterans seeking assistance for PTSD has raised concerns regarding appropriate treatment specific to traumatic exposure during combat related events and the barriers associated with delivering suitable …show more content…
Additionally, uses and gratification theory provides an assumption that different people require different social and psychological care that can be satisfied by media that is most relevant (Ruggiero, 2000). Active game play could potentially be an effective and efficient therapeutic approach by which children, youth and victims of traumatic events generate positive emotions. (Russoniello et al., 2009; Ryan et al., 2006). According to Russoniello et al., (2009), results from studies insinuate puzzle-type games (i.e. bejeweled I & II,) can increase a gamers mood, stimulate relaxation, and decrease anxiety. Moreover, (McGonigal, 2011) suggests there is an intense correlation regarding deep positive emotional experiences and video game engagement. For example, role-playing type games (i.e. World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy, Pokémon) were designed to offer players an arrangement of avatars, each an expert in their craft (i.e. healer, warrior, wizard), factions, character specific social behavior, advantages and susceptibilities. The intent of a role-playing type game is to foster reappraise emotional experiences, thereby providing instruction to gamers on the benefits of coping with their frustration and anxiety in adaptive behaviors