Flow Theory-based Non-violent Communication App Design for Children
Authors: Guan Xinwei 
Published: June 2023

The characteristics of verbal violence in the family distinguish it from other forms of domestic violence: the intimate nature of the space, the persistence, multiplicity and widespread nature of the behaviour, and the interactive nature. In recent years, there has been an overall trend of increasing research articles related to domestic verbal violence, and the phenomenon of domestic verbal violence has gained more social attention and research by scholars. In order to improve the emotional experience of the abused in domestic verbal violence, while using the APP to do communication training, allowing the user to be in a mind-flow experience can improve the user experience of not being able to focus on the training during the use of the communication training APP, and the training based on the mind-flow experience can effectively improve the situation of family verbal communication and enhance the mental health of children.In order to improve the emotional experience of the abused in domestic verbal violence, while using the app to do communication training, the user can improve the user experience of not being able to focus on the training during the use of the communication training app, and the training based on the mind flow experience can effectively improve the situation of family verbal communication and enhance the mental health of children. This project investigated 131 young users who had suffered from family verbal violence in their families through questionnaires, and analysed the immersion training behaviour of 6 target users (parents and children) by using the interview method. Through in-depth analysis of the data obtained from the research through SPSS, the characteristics and performance of the user experience stages were summarised, and the corresponding elements and design factors of the mind-flow experience were extracted. The design principles of 16 children's psychological training APPs were summarised in four dimensions: clear target tasks, pleasant interface performance, effective operational interaction and motivating and immersive emotional experience. On this basis, a design model for a psychological communication training APP from the perspective of the mind-flow theory was developed, and WEIRDO WORDS APP was designed with non-violent communication as an example.The parent-child communication training APP prototype guided by the design strategy generated in this study can effectively enhance the user experience in training, stimulate the user's mind-flow experience, and increase the user stickiness of users using the training APP.Introducing mind-flow theory into the design study of communication training APPs can significantly influence users' behavioural motivation, satisfy their emotional needs and create a rich and comprehensive interactive experience. With the market prospect that children's mental health services are receiving more and more attention, introducing the mind flow theory into the design of children's psychological education APPs has important theoretical significance and practical value, and also provides new methods and new ideas for the design of children's psychological education APPs.