Courtney G. Matthews, a PhD researcher at the University of Canterbury, discusses her Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology paper examining Dungeons & Dragons through a social identity lens to test whether tabletop role-playing games function as a “social cure” rather than a “social curse.” Surveying 305 current D&D players in New Zealand, her study assessed wellbeing, belonging, and how participants rated multiple social groups for importance, supportiveness, positivity, and self-representation. Players rated their D&D groups as highly important, supportive, positive, and representative—comparable to family and friends—despite spending less time with them, averaging about nine interaction days per month. The conversation highlights loneliness, the accessibility and low cost of TTRPGs, a notable 17% transgender or gender-diverse sample without targeted recruitment, and future directions including larger studies and community or university-based interventions such as library and afterschool programs.

See Courtney and myself at DND MDT podcast.

*Note opinions are our own and not those of any organisations we are affiliated with.

00:00 Meet Courtney Matthews

00:44 Study Overview and Theory

02:25 Method and Participant Mapping

03:17 Social Cure Findings

05:53 Scaling Up Future Research

06:13 Community Programs and Networks

07:35 Diversity and Inclusion Insights

09:44 Closing Takeaways and Thanks