Predictors of Problematic Video Game Usage in Childhood and Adolescence

Author(s):  
Thomas Mößle ◽  
Florian Rehbein

Aim: The aim of this article is to work out the differential significance of risk factors of media usage, personality and social environment in order to explain problematic video game usage in childhood and adolescence. Method: Data are drawn from the Berlin Longitudinal Study Media, a four-year longitudinal control group study with 1 207 school children. Data from 739 school children who participated at 5th and 6th grade were available for analysis. Result: To explain the development of problematic video game usage, all three areas, i. e. specific media usage patterns, certain aspects of personality and certain factors pertaining to social environment, must be taken into consideration. Video game genre, video gaming in reaction to failure in the real world (media usage), the children’s/adolescents’ academic self-concept (personality), peer problems and parental care (social environment) are of particular significance. Conclusion: The results of the study emphasize that in future – and above all also longitudinal – studies different factors regarding social environment must also be taken into account with the recorded variables of media usage and personality in order to be able to explain the construct of problematic video game usage. Furthermore, this will open up possibilities for prevention.

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 341-351
Author(s):  
Dudung Angkasa ◽  
◽  
Riri Amanda Pratiwi ◽  
Idrus Jus'at ◽  
◽  
...  

Introduction: Skipping breakfast may contribute to poor academic and nutritional status among school children. The current study aimed to determine the effect of the ‘MAPAGI’ (Makan Pagi Bergizi) interactive video game on elementary student’s breakfast knowledge and attitude. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental equivalent group study with a pre-post test control group design. In total, 228 students aged 9-11 years were drawn by proportional stratified random sampling from two urban schools and were distributed equally into intervention (IG) and control groups (CG). Both groups were administered with similar printed media for 10-15 minutes. Video game was delivered only to IG for two consecutive days, 30 minutes each day. Pre-test (PT0) was performed a day before leaflet administration, while post-test was performed twice – after leaflet administration (post-test 1/ PT1) and a week after the last video game (post-test 2/PT2). Paired, independent t-test and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were employed to answer the research questions. Results: The mean changes (PT1-PT0 and PT2-PT0) in knowledge score for IG (4.82±2.53 and 3.25±2.47) significantly differed compared to CG (1.75±2.66 and 1.25±2.69). The mean changes in attitude score for IG (7.16±7.17 and 7.34±7.11) also significantly differed compared to CG (2.83±6.58 and 2.64±6.90). After adjustment for potential confounding factors, there was still a significantly greater score in children’s knowledge and attitude after a week’s administration of MAPAGI video game in IG. Conclusion: ‘MAPAGI’ improved school children’s knowledge and attitude, which may lead to the good behaviour of having breakfast.


Author(s):  
Jonathan Barend Schuchert ◽  
Jörg Lewald

AbstractComputer game playing has been suggested to be an effective training to enhance perceptual and cognitive abilities. Focusing on potential improvements in auditory selective spatial attention induced by computer gaming, we compared a passive waiting-control group with two gaming groups, playing either a first-person audio-only action game requiring spatial attention and sound localization or a platform side-scroller video game without audiospatial components, which has been shown to improve cognitive performance in previous studies. Prior to and immediately after game training for 1 month for at least 30 min per day (total training time ≥15 h), healthy young adults were tested in an audiospatial task simulating a “cocktail-party” situation with multiple speakers at different positions. The proportion of correct target localizations was significantly increased after audio and video gaming compared with the control group. However, there were no significant differences between gaming groups, with similarly strong effects of action audio game and non-action video game trainings on auditory selective spatial attention. Thus, it seems as if successful training of “cocktail-party” listening can be induced not only by modality-specific near-transfer learning within the audiospatial domain, but also by far transfer of trained cognitive skills across sensory modalities, which may enhance domain-general processes supporting selective attention.


2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 92-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Glascock

Given the increasing relevance of verbal aggression in today’s society, the goal of this study was to assess the relative contributions of potential demographic and sociological factors. Emerging adults were surveyed, and the data were analyzed using correlations and hierarchical regression. While television viewing, video game playing, and music listening were positively correlated with verbal aggression, only (rap) music listening remained significant when demographic and other sociological influences were factored in. Overall, the hierarchical regression analysis found religiosity, parental and peer influence, quality of neighborhood, sex, and media usage (listening to rap music) to be significant contributors to verbal aggression among emerging adults. Male participants reported more verbally aggressive behavior than women, and African Americans reported more verbal aggression than White respondents. While media usage seems to play a significant, but relatively small role, other demographic and sociological factors such as gender, neighborhood, religion, peers, and parents appear to be major contributors in the development of verbal aggression among emerging adults.


Author(s):  
Ms. Sonam Yangchen Bhutia ◽  
Dr. Sushma Kumari Saini ◽  
Dr. Manmeet Kaur ◽  
Dr. Sandhya Ghai

School children can act as change agent not only for families but for community. The study aimed to assess effectiveness of information package on knowledge and practices of parents/family members of school children studying in Govt. Sr. Sec. School on food hygiene in Dhanas and Daddu Majra Colony, UT, Chandigarh. A non-randomised controlled trial was conducted on 201 school children studying in VIIth standard and their parents/family members. Purposive sampling technique was utilised to enrol 101 in case and 100 participants in control group. Interview schedule for knowledge assessment and observation checklist for assessing the practices of parents/ family members was used. Pre assessment of both the groups was done by a home visit. Experimental group school children were educated on food hygiene as per the protocol. Pre and post-test knowledge of school children on food hygiene was assessed and were asked to disseminate the information to their parents/family members.  After 15 days, second time home visit was done to the parents/family members of both the groups for the post assessment of knowledge and practices. Significant improvement in knowledge and practices of parents/family members related to food hygiene was observed. Hence, school children can be an effective tool in health related knowledge dissemination which can further promote healthy practices.


2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 95
Author(s):  
Hetriana Leksananingsih ◽  
Slamet Iskandar ◽  
Tri Siswati

Background: Riskesdas in 2013 showed that Yogyakarta (DIY) had a prevalence of stunted new kid in school is less than the national average, which is 14.9% (MOH, 2013). Stunted or short, is a linear growth retardation has been widely used as an indicator to measure the nutritional status of individuals and community groups. Stunted can be influenced by several factors: birth weight, birth length match and genetic factors. Objective: To determine the weight, length of low birth weight and genetic factors as predictors of the occurrence of stunted on elementary school children. Methods: The study was a case control analytic. Research sites in SD Muhammadiyah Ngijon 1 Subdistrict Moyudan. The study was conducted in May and June 2015. The subjects were school children grade 1 to grade 5 the number of cases as many as 47 children and 94 control children. With the inclusion criteria of research subjects willing to become respondents, was present at the time of the study, they have a father and mother, and exclusion criteria have no data BB and PB birth, can not stand upright. The research variables are BBL, PBL, genetic factors and TB / U at this time. Data were analyzed by chi-square test and Odd Ratio (OR) calculation. Results: In case group as much as 91.5% of normal birth weight and length of 80.9% of normal birth weight, most of the height of a normal mother and father as many as 85.1%. In the control group as much as 78.7% of normal birth weight and 61.7% were born normal body length, height mostly normal mom and dad that 96.7% of women and 90.4% normal normal father. Statistical test result is no significant correlation between height mothers with stunted incidence in school children, and the results of chi-square test P = 0.026 with value Odd Ratio (OR) of 3.9 and a range of values from 1.091 to 14.214 Cl95%. Conclusion: High maternal body of mothers can be used as predictors of the occurrence of stunted school children and mothers with stunted nutritional status have 3.9 times the risk of having children with stunted nutritional status.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Zendle

A variety of practices have recently emerged which are related to both video games and gambling. Most prominent of these are loot boxes. However, a broad range of other activities have recently emerged which are also related to both gambling and video games: esports betting, real-money video gaming, token wagering, social casino play, and watching videos of both loot box opening and gambling on game streaming services like Twitch.Whilst a nascent body of research has established the robust existence of a relationship between loot box spending and both problem gambling and disordered gaming, little research exists which examines whether similar links may exist for the diverse practices outlined above. Furthermore, no research has thus far attempted to estimate the prevalence of these activities.A large-scale survey of a representative sample of UK adults (n=1081) was therefore conducted in order to investigate these issues. Engagement in all measured forms of gambling-like video game practices were significantly associated with both problem gambling and disordered gaming. An aggregate measure of engagement was associated with both these outcomes to a clinically significant degree (r=0.23 and r=0.43). Engagement in gambling-like video game practices appeared widespread, with a 95% confidence interval estimating that 16.3% – 20.9% of the population engaged in these activities at least once in the last year. Engagement in these practices was highly inter-correlated: Individuals who engaged in one practice were likely to engage in several more.Overall, these results suggest that the potential effects of the blurring of lines between video games and gambling should not primarily be understood to be due to the presence of loot boxes in video games. They suggest the existence of a convergent ecosystem of gambling-like video game practices, whose causal relationships with problem gambling and disordered gaming are currently unclear but must urgently be investigated.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia Gabriela Speyer ◽  
Anastasia Ushakova ◽  
Hildigunnur Anna Hall ◽  
Michelle Luciano ◽  
Bonnie Auyeung ◽  
...  

Background: Most mental health difficulties have their onset during childhood and adolescence. Many children who suffer from one mental health issue also suffer from at least one comorbid disorder. Autoregressive latent trajectory models with structured residuals (ALT-SR) and multilevel graphical vector autoregression (GVAR) are recent complementary approaches that can help provide new insights into the reciprocal relationships between multiple mental health domains and advance the understanding of the development of comorbidities.Methods: This study uses ALT-SR and multilevel GVAR models to analyse the temporal, contemporaneous and between-person relationships between emotional problems, peer problems, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention and prosociality as measured by the parent-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in 17,478 children taking part in the UK Millennium Cohort Study at ages 3, 5, 7, 11, 14 and 17 years. Results: Results from both the ALT-SR model and the multilevel GVAR model highlight that children’s strengths and difficulties in different domains of psychosocial functioning dynamically influence each other over- and within-time. The ALT-SR model highlighted that hyperactivity/inattention plays a central role in affecting other domains over developmental time while the GVAR model highlighted comparably strong bidirectional relationships between conduct problems and prosociality as well as between emotional problems and peer problems. Both models suggest that most domains are also related to each other over shorter timescales.Conclusion: This study highlights that mental health difficulties influence one another dynamically over time. As illustrated in the domains of the SDQ, these dynamic changes can be modelled using the complementary techniques of ALT-SR or GVAR models, each offering different insights into the nature of comorbidity.


Author(s):  
Anna Freytag ◽  
Katharina Knop-Huelss ◽  
Adrian Meier ◽  
Leonard Reinecke ◽  
Dorothée Hefner ◽  
...  

Abstract Concerns have been expressed that permanent online connectedness might negatively affect media user’s stress levels. Most research has focused on negative effects of specific media usage patterns, such as media multitasking or communication load. In contrast, users’ cognitive orientation toward online content and communication has rarely been investigated. Against this backdrop, we examined whether this cognitive orientation (i.e., online vigilance with its three dimensions salience, reactibility, monitoring) is related to perceived stress at different timescales (person, day, and situation level), while accounting for the effects of multitasking and communication load. Results across three studies showed that, in addition to multitasking (but not communication load), especially the cognitive salience of online communication is positively related to stress. Our findings are discussed regarding mental health implications and the origins of stress.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanne-Mari Schiøtz Thorud ◽  
Rakel Aurjord ◽  
Helle K. Falkenberg

AbstractMusculoskeletal pain and headache are leading causes of years lived with disability, and an escalating problem in school children. Children spend increasingly more time reading and using digital screens, and increased near tasks intensify the workload on the precise coordination of the visual and head-stabilizing systems. Even minor vision problems can provoke headache and neck- and shoulder (pericranial) pain. This study investigated the association between headaches, pericranial tenderness, vision problems, and the need for glasses in children. An eye and physical examination was performed in twenty 10–15 year old children presenting to the school health nurse with headache and pericranial pain (pain group), and twenty age-and-gender matched classmates (control group). The results showed that twice as many children in the pain group had uncorrected vision and needed glasses. Most children were hyperopic, and glasses were recommended mainly for near work. Headache and pericranial tenderness were significantly correlated to reduced binocular vision, reduced distance vision, and the need for new glasses. That uncorrected vision problems are related to upper body musculoskeletal symptoms and headache, indicate that all children with these symptoms should have a full eye examination to promote health and academic performance.


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