Marlou Poppelaarsonline
Short bio
PhD Candidate passionate about psychopathology prevention, intrinsic motivation and the use of video games for this purpose. Loves to read, cook and making sure that bomb does not explode.
Top-3 games
- Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
- Journey
- Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Stars can’t shine without darkness
D H Sidebottem - Fragile Truths
About me
I am a PhD-student at the Behavioural Science Institute at the Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands. My current project focuses on mechanisms in commercially available video games that may promote mental health in adolescents. Moreover, I am intrigued by the motivational effects of using videogames and the opportunity to galvanize on the strong emotions experienced during gameplay to promote mental health. I believe that innovative theoretical, methodological and intervention research is needed to lower the disease burden of internalizing mental health disorders and I am excited to contribute to this with my own work.
Projects I’ve worked on
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CategoryResilienceDate01/02/2017Study/CourseLocation
Can I Play Some More? Promoting Adolescent Well-being Through Engaging Video Games
About the projectCommercial video games may offer a cheap and readily available way to help us understand in what way video games can be used to promote adolescent well-being. Excellent targets for this are games that involve social interaction, encourage both positive and negative emotions and are identified by youth themselves as potentially beneficial. By letting youth play several commercial video games in different settings, we can learn how games interact with well-being in both short and long-term.
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CategoryGamingDate21/01/2020Study/CourseLocation
Nonspecific Factors in Video Games for Mental Health
About the projectMore and more games are designed to promote mental health. If these games are found to be effective, it is important to investigate which factors are responsible for the improvements in mental health. Most often, this type of research focuses on the specific clinical techniques that were designed into the game. However, from the clinical literature it is known that, for instance, expectations, motivation, and one’s mindset about the malleability of symptoms play a major role in positive intervention outcomes. In my project I aim to investigate these nonspecific factors and examine how we can manipulate these factors in order to optimize video games for mental health.
My updates
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Should you play Pokemon Go with your family?
Marlou Poppelaars - 18-12-2018In a small side street leading from the riverfront up to the city center a strange collection of people were gathered. Among them pre-teen children accompanied by a parent, a group of about a dozen teenage boys, several smaller groups of older teenagers and young adults, interspersed by older adults and senior citizens. All gathering to and playing together with the aim of battling and catching the legendary Pokémon Giratina. So why is it that Pokemon go still attracts so many players from all ages? And should your family join in?
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May roundup: A kaleidoscope of options for depression and anxiety
Marlou Poppelaars - 31-05-2018The month of May is almost over, which means that in the next few days we are switching over to a new topic. In case you missed any of our blogs this month, I have compiled them all here.
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Dark Souls: A reflection of depression and a way to cope?
Marlou Poppelaars - 18-05-2018Dark Souls is a video game series often described as dark and incredibly difficult. Honestly, one of the last games I would have considered as beneficial for those dealing with depression. My first impression may very well be wrong though...
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Do It Yourself: Dealing with depression and anxiety
Marlou Poppelaars - 04-05-2018Everyone has moments when they feel sad, lonely, numb, exhausted, depressed, nervous or anxious. This is a normal part of the ups and downs of life and most people will experience one or more periods in their lives, when they have a diagnosable depression or anxiety disorder. But even if things are not quite that bad, you may still want to do something to help yourself feel better!
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Theme Month May – Can you help me?
Marlou Poppelaars - 03-05-2018No matter how natural receiving help can be, asking for help can be difficult. This month, in honour of Mental Health Awareness Month , we will focus on help-seeking for anxiety and depression and we will discuss different types of help, different ways you can find help and things you can do to help yourself.
Events View all events
My publications
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Videospellen: De Positieve Effecten
Granic, I., Lobel, A., Poppelaars, M., & Engels, R. C. M. E. (2015). Kind en Adolescent, 36 (1), 1-22. doi:10.1007/s12453-014-0066-8
Author: Marlou Poppelaars
Upload date: 03-01-2015
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A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Two Cognitive-Behavioral Programs for Adolescent Girls with Subclinical Depression: A School-Based Program (Op Volle Kracht) and a Computerized Program (SPARX)
Poppelaars, M., Tak, Y. R., Lichtwarck-Aschoff, A., Engels, R. C. M. E., Lobel, A., Merry, S. N., Lucassen, M. F. G., & Granic, I. (2016). Behaviour Research and Therapy, 80, 33-42. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2016.03.005
Author: Marlou Poppelaars
Upload date: 05-01-2016
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Autonomous and Controlled Motivation in a Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing School-based and Computerized Depression Prevention Programs
Poppelaars, M., Tak, Y. R., Lichtwarck-Aschoff, A., Engels, R. C. M. E., Lobel, A., Merry, S. N., Lucassen, M. F. G., & Granic, I. (2014). In Schouten, B., Fedtke, S., Schijven, M., Vosmeer, M. & Gekker, A. (Eds.), Games for Health 2014 (pp. 125-135). Germany: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. doi: 10.1007/978-3-658-07141-7_17
Author: Marlou Poppelaars
Upload date: 10-29-2014
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Explicit Mental Health Messaging Promotes Serious Video Game Selection in Youth with Elevated Mental Health Symptoms
Poppelaars, M., Wols, A., Lichtwarck-Aschoff, A., & Granic, I. (2018). Frontiers in Psychology.
Author: Marlou Poppelaars
Upload date: 09-10-2018
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The Impact of Explicit Mental Health Messages in Video Games on Players’ Motivation and Affect
Poppelaars, M., Lichtwarck-Aschoff, A., Kleinjan, M., & Granic, I. (2018). The impact of explicit mental health messages in video games on players’ motivation and affect. Computers in Human Behavior, 83, 16-23. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.01.019
Author: Marlou Poppelaars
Upload date: 07-01-2018
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Explicit Mental Health Messaging Promotes Serious Video Game Selection in Youth with Elevated Mental Health Symptoms
Poppelaars, M., Wols, A., Lichtwarck-Aschoff, A., & Granic, I. (2018). Frontiers in Psychology.
Author: Marlou Poppelaars
Upload date: 09-10-2018
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The Impact of Explicit Mental Health Messages in Video Games on Players’ Motivation and Affect
Poppelaars, M., Lichtwarck-Aschoff, A., Kleinjan, M., & Granic, I. (2018). The impact of explicit mental health messages in video games on players’ motivation and affect. Computers in Human Behavior, 83, 16-23. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.01.019
Author: Marlou Poppelaars
Upload date: 07-01-2018
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Explicit Mental Health Messaging Promotes Serious Video Game Selection in Youth with Elevated Mental Health Symptoms
Poppelaars, M., Wols, A., Lichtwarck-Aschoff, A., & Granic, I. (2018). Frontiers in Psychology.
Author: Marlou Poppelaars
Upload date: 09-10-2018
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Preregistration: The effect of expectations on experienced fun, mood, state-anxiety and in-game play behaviours while playing MindLight
Wols, A., Hollenstein, T., Lichtwarck-Aschoff, A., & Granic, I. (2019). Preregistration: The effect of expectations on experienced fun, mood, state-anxiety and in-game play behaviours while playing MindLight. https://osf.io/6gmwv
Author: Aniek Wols
Upload date: 07-05-2019
Worked together with
PhD-candidate interested in how and why applied games for mental health work.
PhD-Candidate
Professor and Chair of the Developmental Psychopathology department in the Behavioural Science Institute; writer; voracious podcast consumer; mother of two upstanding little gamers
Director of GEMH Lab
User Research Analyst at Ubisoft Montréal. My favorite games tell emotionally rich stories and challenge me to think differently
User Research Analyst
Assistant Professor at the Developmental Psychopathology Department, mainly interested in general processes and principles of clinical change; mother of two wild boys.
Assistant Professor
Assistant prof. and data geek at the GEMH lab, dynamical modelling, personalisation, wants to put the I back into AI, news junkie, cat lover.
Assistant Professor
Rutger Engels
CEO at Trimbos Institute / Professor Developmental Psychopathology Utrecht University
Marloes Kleinjan
Program Head Epidemiology & Research support at Trimbos Institute / Professor Youth Mental Health Promotion Utrecht University