While video games sometimes get a bad rap for enticing children and teens to spend hours in front of a glowing screen, one University of Missouri School of Medicine researcher has the chance to prove games can be beneficial in the classroom.

Joel Epstein, PhD, MU associate professor of psychiatry and researcher at the Missouri Institute of Mental Health in St. Louis, recently received a four-year $1 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, to develop a video game focused on what happens in the brain and the body when a person uses drugs.

Epstein, the recipient of two previous NIDA grants for developing multimedia programs that educate children on the dangers of substance abuse, views this project as a progression of his 17 years of work with the MIMH. First there were videos, then interactive CD-ROMs that were distributed to 19,000 schools across the country, and now, a video game.

“We’ve always done something a bit different than kids are used to and they’ve responded really well to it,” Epstein said. “I think the more you can engage them in the learning process, the more likely it is that the information you’re trying to convey to them will be retained.”

As someone who worked as a freelance computer programmer while earning his doctorate in clinical psychology, Epstein is especially qualified to lead a creative team at MIMH in developing the video game software.

During the development phase, Epstein will work with St. Louis teachers to ensure that the game fits seamlessly into state curriculum standards and meets educational objectives. Focus groups with some important stakeholders – the fourth- and fifth-grade students who make up the target audience – will help developers determine how the game should look and function. The final result will be a single curriculum with two different versions of software, one competitive and one socially collaborative, to test how boys and girls respond to these different types of presentations.

Pretesting children to determine their knowledge about the science of addiction, their attitudes toward drug use and their attitudes toward science in general will help gauge the game’s success. Once the children have played the game, researchers will conduct several follow-up tests to see if playing time has had any impact on these variables.

“My hope is that we can create a unique, memorable and effective learning experience,” Epstein said. “The students will be so engaged in the storyline of the game that they’ll also be engaged in the content we’re trying to get across.”

Click here to view and download Epstein’s previous multimedia programs that teach students about the science of addiction.

Other current projects at the Missouri Institute of Mental Health include:

• MIMH is evaluating the Youth Suicide Prevention and Early Intervention program for the Missouri Department of Mental Health. Activities will include outcome evaluation and assessment of suicide prevention trainings conducted by approximately 14 regional centers. Funding for the prevention and intervention program is provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).


• Faculty with the MIMH Child and Family Division will evaluate the Safe Schools Healthy Students program for the Hazelwood School District in St. Louis. Safe Schools Healthy Students is a national initiative designed to reduce violence and substance use and improve mental health for students attending elementary and secondary schools. Funding is provided by the U.S. Department of Education, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Department of Justice.


• MIMH faculty, along with researchers at Saint Louis University and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville are conducting a study examining substance abuse and mental health issues in the metropolitan St. Louis Bosnian community. The study is funded by a one-year grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH) and is part of a multi-year effort supporting both broad-based and targeted projects addressing mental health and substance abuse issues.


• MIMH, in conjunction with the Missouri Department of Mental Health, has received a more than $13 million grant from SAMHSA to create an early intervention program in medical settings for people with risky behaviors. These behaviors include excessive use of alcohol or tobacco, use of illegal drugs, or abuse of prescription medications.