Lázaro Pérez, EstherAmayra Caro, ImanolLópez Paz, Juan FranciscoMartínez, ÓscarPérez Álvarez, ManuelBerrocoso Cascallana, SarahAl-Rashaida, Mohammad Ali HusseinGarcía Martín, MaitaneLuna Ovalle, PaulaPérez Núñez, PaulaRodríguez Bermejo, Alicia AuroraFernández, PaulaParada Fernández, PamelaOliva Macías, Mireia2025-10-032025-10-032020-04-02Lázaro, E., Amayra, I., López-Paz, J. F., Martínez, O., Alvarez, M. P., Berrocoso, S., Al-Rashaida, M., García, M., Luna, P., Pérez-Núñez, P., Rodriguez, A. A., Fernández, P., Fernández, P. P., & Oliva-Macías, M. (2020). Using a virtual serious game (Deusto-e-motion1.0) to assess the theory of mind in primary school children: observational descriptive study. JMIR Serious Games, 8(2). https://doi.org/10.2196/1297110.2196/12971https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14454/3850Background: Given the interactive media characteristics and intrinsically motivating appeal, virtual serious games are often praised for their potential for assessment and treatment. Objective: This study aims to validate and develop normative data for a virtual serious game (Deusto-e-motion1.0) for the evaluation of emotional facial expression recognition and social skills, both of which are components of the theory of mind. Methods: A total of 1236 children took part in the study. The children were classified by age (8-12 years old), gender (males=639, females=597), and educational level (between the third and sixth years of Primary Education). A total of 10 schools from the Basque Country and 20 trained evaluators participated in this study. Results: Differences were found in Deusto-e-motion1.0 scores between groups of children depending on age and gender. Moreover, there was a moderately significant correlation between the emotional recognition scores of Deusto-e-motion1.0 and those of the Feel facial recognition test. Conclusions: Deusto-e-motion1.0 shows concurrent validity with instruments that assess emotional recognition. Results support the adequacy of Deusto-e-motion1.0 in assessing components of the theory of mind in children.eng©Esther Lázaro, Imanol Amayra, Juan Francisco López-Paz, Oscar Martínez, Manuel Pérez Alvarez, Sarah Berrocoso, Mohammad Al-Rashaida, Maitane García, Paula Luna, Paula Pérez-Núñez, Alicia Aurora Rodriguez, Paula Fernández, Pamela Parada Fernández, Mireia Oliva-MacíasChildrenFacial emotion recognitionSerious gameTheory of mindjournal article2025-10-032291-9279