Psychosocial and Mental Health Characteristics of RePresent Game Users

The RePresent games are online video games that are publicly available and designed to educate people about legal self-representation in civil court. This study was part of a project to examine use of the RePresent games in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire from January 2018 to May 2018. Data on game use across the four states were analyzed, and an online survey was conducted to examine characteristics of RePresent game users and nonusers seeking civil legal aid (n = 277). The RePresent games were accessed more than 7,000 times in five months. The most common legal problems reported were related to debt, family, and housing. Compared with nonusers, RePresent game users were significantly more likely to be nonwhite, to have an incarceration history, to have more legal problems, and to screen positive for alcohol use problems. In the total sample, 83 percent screened positive for depression, 81 percent for generalized anxiety disorder, and 45 percent for drug problems. Only 34 percent reported use of mental health services, and 17 percent reported substance abuse treatment in the past year. These findings demonstrate that products like the RePresent games can be widely accessible to adults from disadvantaged backgrounds. In addition, civil legal settings may be a new area for mental health screening and intervention.