title: Psychiatrists' Perceptions of Role-Playing Games.
abstract: The literature has seen a surge in research on the mental health impacts of technologies such as Facebook, video games, and massively-multiplayer online role-playing games such as World of Warcraft, but little is known regarding the mental health impact of non-video role-playing games, such as Dungeons & Dragons. The present study examines how psychiatrists' perceive role-playing games and whether they play them. Psychiatrists at a tertiary care centre in Canada completed a questionnaire assessing history of playing role-playing games and whether they associate them with psychopathology. Forty-eight psychiatrists responded. Twenty-three percent have played a role-playing game over their lifetimes. Twenty-two percent believed there was an association between psychopathology and role-playing games. A majority of psychiatrists who responded do not associate role-playing games with psychopathology. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: McGill University Psychiatry Perceptions of Emerging Technologies Labs, Montreal, QC, Canada, eric.lis@mail.mcgill.ca.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lis
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chiniara
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Biskin
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Montoro
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011570:Psychiatry; D012381:Role Playing; D018910:Video Games / Q000523:psychology*