'The bandwidth comes and goes': Gaming preferences, habits and attitudes in a persistent low mood population

Low mood and depression are one of the most prevalent mental health problems [2]. Video games are cheap, accessible and show promise in improving people's mental and emotional wellbeing. The amount of research focusing on gaming and wellbeing has increased over the last couple of years, but there is a distinct lack of research focusing on player preferences, attitudes and what factors they identify as helpful or harmful. This qualitative study used a semi-structured interview format to ask 18 participants with persistent low mood about what they liked to play, what aspects of games they found appealing and how they felt about their gameplay in order to better understand the interactions gaming can have with a low mood population. Through reflexive thematic analysis, 5 themes were found: 1) Finding consolation in predictable experiences, 2) Finding a focus in engaging games, 3) Gaining a sense of success, 4) Valuing games and what they can offer and 5) Exacerbating the negative aspects of gaming. These themes are discussed in terms of the current literature, as well as potential future directions and applications of this work.