Tabletop role-playing games, young people and social participation
Spillskaperlaget works with children and young people who are underrepresented in cultural life. Tabletop role-playing games can give vulnerable youth something fundamental: a space where they experience belonging, mastery and shared agency. Here is the evidence base for this approach.
The research is promising, but young. Several studies report positive findings related to belonging, social functioning and mental health. Results vary, and small sample sizes and few controlled studies make it difficult to establish how large the effects are, who benefits from the programmes, and what drives the improvements. There is also an important distinction between structured programmes with trained facilitators and ordinary gaming groups. The studies below deal primarily with the former.
A narrative research review from 2025, published in Children and Youth Services Review, deals explicitly with young people in marginalised life situations. The researchers describe tabletop role-playing games as an interest-based and less threatening entry point for social contact and psychosocial support, particularly for young people whom traditional interventions fail to reach. Young people with negative experiences of social services can be difficult to engage through adult-led programmes. Role-playing games may be effective precisely because the entry point is enjoyable: the young person comes to play, not because someone has decided there is something wrong with them.
The most direct evaluation of role-playing games for vulnerable youth in a school context is the Young Dragons programme, evaluated in BMC Public Health in 2026. Ten schools in London ran a D&D-based programme for pupils aged 9 to 16 who were at risk of school exclusion. The pupils played in small, stable groups for one hour per week over six to eight weeks. The programme differed from ordinary D&D play through structured reflection, trained facilitators and close follow-up.
Among the 30 pupils with school records available, the average number of temporary school exclusions dropped from 0.7 to 0.0 (p = 0.022). Attendance rose slightly (90.6 % to 92.7 %). Staff and observers reported visible improvements in emotional regulation, turn-taking and cooperation. The researchers identified small stable groups, skilled facilitation and structured reflection as key conditions.
A 2025 review positions tabletop role-playing games as a cost-effective method for social and emotional learning (SEL) in schools. The authors ground their analysis in Bandura’s social learning theory and propose weekly sessions of 30 to 45 minutes in groups of two to eight pupils. Role-playing games provide structured opportunities to practise social skills, emotional regulation and collaborative problem-solving.
Limitation: We have not identified published studies that directly examine role-playing games in connection with substance use, school refusal, child welfare, youth offending or outreach youth work. The review by Colquhoun et al. (2025) comes closest to this target group.
A 2025 conference abstract summarises a systematic review across 21 databases. Only five studies met the inclusion criteria. All pointed to improvements in social skills, communication and social functioning, particularly for autistic young people. The abstract has not been published as a full peer-reviewed article, so details of the selection and analysis methods are limited.
Since that review, several further studies have appeared. Together, they provide a more detailed picture.
A 2026 pilot study followed nine autistic adolescents through an eight-week role-playing programme called Guild Chronicles. The researchers found significant improvement in social skills at follow-up and reduced loneliness after the programme. The effect on loneliness was maintained when the researchers checked three months later. A similar D&D-based programme in Canada began with six participants and grew to over 27, driven by the young people’s own demand.
A study from Japan followed 55 teenagers with an autism spectrum diagnosis through a role-playing programme. After five sessions, the group showed significantly increased quality of life. This is among the larger samples in the research on role-playing games and autistic youth.
An Australian study followed 13 autistic young people aged 14 to 29 who played in socially led groups without a therapist. Participants reported lasting friendships and improved social confidence, flexibility and life skills that also transferred to situations outside the game. The researchers described the programme as neurodiversity-affirming and strengths-based.
A study with six autistic adolescents in Brazil found improved social functioning after in-person gaming sessions. Participants formed new friendships through the programme. A larger study with 186 participants (2026) found meaningful social support both in-person and online, with more support reported for in-person play. Online play offered greater accessibility.
Limitation: Nearly all research concerns autistic young people. Only one published single study addresses ADHD. Research on learning disabilities is absent.
The research on role-playing games and social anxiety provides some of the strongest quantitative evidence in the field. It is relevant to work with vulnerable youth because social anxiety is often part of the picture for those who struggle with participation.
A registered pilot study published in Royal Society Open Science in 2025 followed 20 participants through a ten-week structured D&D protocol. 17 of 18 who completed the programme showed reduced fear of social situations. 16 of 18 reported less avoidance. Only two dropped out during the programme.
Large effect size for anxiety reduction from weekly role-playing sessions over three months (n = 30).
Kroplewski, Los & Pawlicki, 2025 · Brain Sciences
Another study measured the effect of eight weeks of D&D in a general sample. The researchers found a significant decrease in depression, stress and anxiety, and a significant increase in self-esteem and self-efficacy.
Across the literature, we can identify seven possible explanations for why tabletop role-playing games may produce social and psychological benefits. Together, these properties may help explain why tabletop role-playing games work differently from many other group activities.
Perhaps the point is not primarily that role-playing is therapy in disguise. It may be that the young person gets something quite ordinary: a group that expects them on Thursday, a character that matters, and people who notice if they don’t show up.
The results above come mainly from structured programmes with trained facilitators, research oversight and established routines. Young Dragons, for example, used structured reflection, psychological safety assessment and skilled game leaders with experience in youth work. That is not the same as an ordinary gaming group at a youth centre.
Spillskaperlaget does not provide therapy and does not deliver clinical interventions. What we can do is facilitate role-playing as a recreational activity with some of the same qualities the research points to: voluntary participation, stable groups, good facilitation and the young people’s own interests as the driving force. Whether such a programme actually produces the effects the research suggests depends on the implementation, and should be followed up with evaluation of how participants experience the programme.
We offer a space where young people on the margins can experience belonging, mastery and creative participation. The research provides a promising foundation for developing and evaluating this approach.
This overview was last updated in October 2026. For a complete reference list of all ~40 identified studies, contact Spillskaperlaget.