scholarly journals Psychosocial Adjustment and Mental Distress Associated With In-Game Purchases Among Japanese Junior High School Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroki Shinkawa ◽  
Tomonari Irie ◽  
Masanori Tanaka ◽  
Kengo Yokomitsu

In-game purchases, including microtransactions and loot box spending, are the monetization systems of free-to-play online games. Although some studies have suggested that excessive in-game purchases increase the risk of psychosocial maladjustment and mental distress as well as predict future problematic gaming and gambling practices, empirical studies on problematic behavioral patterns related to in-game purchasing among adolescents are lacking. This study sought to explore whether knowing the style of in-game purchases (non-purchase, planned purchase, or unplanned purchase) could be useful when characterizing maladaptive behavior among adolescents from the perspective of psychosocial adjustment and mental distress. A total of 335 junior high school students (aged 12–15 years) participated in the survey and completed a questionnaire assessing daily online gaming usage, in-game purchases, psychosocial adjustment, and mental distress. The results showed that (1) 30.7% of students had previously made in-game purchases, and at least 14.0% had made unplanned in-game purchases; (2) 19.2% of the users who had made unplanned purchases had spent greater than or equal to their actual monthly allowance within the past month, and (3) unplanned purchase gamers exhibited more behavioral problems and peer problems regarding psychosocial adjustment compared to planned purchase gamers, and more overall difficulties compared to non-purchasers. Meanwhile, more hyperactivity/inattention was seen among in-game purchasers compared to non-purchasers, regardless of whether the purchase was planned or unplanned. These findings support that understanding whether adolescents make unplanned in-game purchases could be a useful approach to describing the characteristics of online gamers with maladaptive tendencies.

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Musarokah Siti ◽  
Dwi Anggani Linggar Bharati

ABSTRACT This paper attempts to analyze the test items in the English National Final Examination (UAN) for Junior High School Students in the academic year 2009/2010. This study aims at analyzing the compatibility of the test items of package A in reading and writing section of English National Final Examination for Junior High School Students with the standard of graduate competence and the cognitive domains used in the test. The data were collected by using documentary method, while in analyzing the data the writers focused on matching the compatibility of the test items with the Standard of Graduate Competence and identifying the cognitive domain used. From the analysis, it was found that the test items of package A in reading and writing section of English National Final Examination 2009/2010 were in line with the Standard of Graduate Competence (SKL) arranged by the government. The cognitive domains in reading section mostly used level of comprehension. The cognitive domains in writing section used the application and the synthesis level. ?é?á Key words: analysis, test items, national final examination


2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 239-253
Author(s):  
Sean Wiebe

In this paper I explore the connection between a/r/tography and poetic inquiry, and how together they cultivate multiple ways of understanding. I further claim that classroom situations are most provocative of thoughtfulness and critical consciousness when each student participates in the classroom conversation from his or her lived situations. While difficult, teachers who can facilitate rich interchanges of dialogue within a plurality of voices are genuinely creating communities of difference and thus imagining real possibilities for social change.


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