Through My Child’s Eyes: Imaginative Play to Promote Peaceful Behavior in Separated and Divorcing Parents

(2024-present)

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Decades of research have shown that exposure to parental conflict predicts poor outcomes for children across family structures, socioeconomic status, and cultural and geographic lines. Children exposed to parental conflict are more likely to develop mental and physical health problems. A gameplay experience in which the “bad guys” are identified and battled has been shown to have powerful transformative effects post trauma.

The open question is: as the parents play through their children’s eyes, will they be able to identify the “bad guys” as their children see them and see themselves as the “secret identity” that gathers allies and activates power-ups - will the imaginative play in the game have a transformative effect?

This is a collaborative project with Assistant Professor Karey O’Hara of the School of Interdisciplinary Forensics. It has been funded by the ASU Humanities Institute and was awarded their Seed Grant for the 2024-25 award year. The seed grant program supports humanities-based projects that engage with social challenges in the past, present or future. Successful projects employ humanities or creative interdisciplinary methodologies.

The Studio 4 Game Innovation is partnering with the Youth and Families in Court Systems research lab. They study the risk and protective factors that influence how youth and families adjust after stressful events that involve contact with family, juvenile, or criminal court systems.