Children's social problem-solving skills in playing videogames and traditional games: a systematic review

Playing games can be one of the most important activities for children to improve their social problem-solving (SPS) skills. Studies that have examined the empirical evidence of playing games concerning children's SPS skills have tended to focus on the function of a single game. Therefore, an overview study is needed to generalize the data by the game content and production purpose. Twelve databases were systematically searched. Four basic criteria were sought for studies to be included. A total of 35 studies meeting all the inclusion criteria were reviewed. The results showed that (i) experimental designs were the most utilized, and (ii) more studies using active control groups are needed to compare the effectiveness of the game playing. In non-traditional games research, half of the videogames used in the studies reviewed and classified, were primarily produced for educational purposes, followed by serious games (30%) and entertainment games (20%). These three types of videogames were effective in promoting children's SPS skills. Moreover, simulation games were the most preferred videogame genre utilized by the researchers. In studies using videogames, children's SPS skills did not differ significantly by gender, whereas in a study using traditional games (non-video games), male participants' problem-solving ability progressed significantly more than that of females. Almost all the studies concluded that playing both videogames and traditional games positively influenced children's SPS skills. However, only three studies utilizing traditional games were conducted during the two-decade period (2000-2019) and more studies are needed for comparable and generalizable results