Gaming Motivation and Negative Psychosocial Outcomes in Male Adolescents: An Individual-Centered 1-Year Longitudinal Study

“Gaming motivation” is a useful concept to draw upon when considering inconsistencies in the effects of online gaming on psychosocial wellbeing. However, most prior studies that utilize it are cross-sectional and do not allow that individuals can be driven by multiple motives. The present study uses an individual-centered method to classify gaming motivation styles of male adolescents and longitudinally observes the relationship between gaming motivations and psychosocial outcomes. A total of 929 healthy, male, adolescent gamers were recruited in October 2019 and classified into “recreational” “achiever,” and “escaper” categories according to their baseline gaming motivations and self-esteem levels. Then, 1-year incidence rates of players and relative risks (RRs) of social withdrawal problems, anxiety/depression syndrome, and self-destructive/identity problems were assessed. Recreational players were found to have the lowest incidence of all the three psychosocial problems among the three categories, achievers only had a moderate risk of social withdrawal, compared to recreational players, while escapers showed a strong risk for social withdrawal, anxiety/depression, and self-destructive/identity problems, relative to recreational gamers. Overall, the different motivation subgroups were associated with different psychosocial problems. Both achievers and escapers were found to be maladaptive, but their psychosocial outcomes were different, a finding that provides further insight into the psychological mechanisms underlying these subgroups.

IMPACT OF THE CONFINEMENT ON THE USE OF VIDEO GAMES, GAMING-RELATED MOTIVATIONS: A QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE STUDY

The rapid spread of Coronavirus disease all over the world led to health and political measures in several countries such as spatial distancing, closures of institutions, and so ones. People were invited to stay home with limited outside activities and face-to-face interactions. To pass the time, and to cope with negative feelings, people had to find alternative activities like playing video games. The present study aims to investigate potential changes in gaming behaviors and the associated gaming motivations. To do so, 346 participants were invited to complete a questionnaire during the confinement and to answer the following question: “Why do you play and is there a link with confinement?” Contextual and social motivations seemed to be two of the most important motivations.

The interplay of gaming disorder, gaming motivations, and the dark triad

Background and aimsThere is a considerable amount of research on the psychological antecedents and outcomes of gaming disorder. Although many studies have examined various personality traits or motivations as predictors in isolation, fewer studies have investigated the mediations between personality traits and motivations. Furthermore, the analyzed personality traits have been limited to a few core concepts, with the Big Five personality traits being a standard model in this context. However, more recently the dark triad of personality traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) has been found to be associated with various forms of problematic online behavior and usage, such as online gambling, yet little is known about gaming disorder. The current study examines the relationship of these dark personality traits to gaming disorder with three gaming motivations (achievement, social, and escapism) as mediators.MethodThe study uses an online survey of 1,502 German digital game users.ResultsResults indicate a fully mediated association for narcissism via escapism and partial mediation associations for Machiavellianism and psychopathy. Direct effects on gaming disorder were observed for Machiavellianism and psychopathy. Indirect effects by psychopathy were observed via escapism and social motivation, by narcissism via escapism, and by Machiavellianism via social motivation.Discussion and conclusionsThese findings contribute to the theoretical understanding of the mediation of gaming motivations and the dark triad personality traits' importance for gaming disorder.

Development and Validation of the Boardgaming Motivations Scale

Games, and boardgames specifically, are an increasingly central part of many individuals’ media diets. Boardgames also have immense potential as naturalistic laboratories for studying psychological phenomena, providing players opportunities for small-group and interpersonal interactions with social, emotional, and cognitive consequences. Although different boardgaming motivations likely modulate these processes and outcomes, no grounded, validated instrument exists to measure them. This three-study investigation explored gaming motivations of and gratifications enjoyed by boardgamers (Study 1) and drew from this exploration to develop the Boardgaming Motivations Scale (Study 2; N = 1,045). Exploratory structural equation models provided initial evidence of the scale’s validity (Study 2). The scale was further refined, confirmed, and validated with an independent sample of less involved boardgamers (Study 3; N = 652). The diverse pool of motivations for playing boardgames inductively identified in Study 1 were reduced to seven dimensions in Study 2 and finally to six in Study 3. These dimensions reflected lusory, immersion, group sociality, community, escapism, and mastery boardgaming motivations. Relationships among these motivations and preferences for boardgame mechanics and genres, individual differences, and videogaming motivations provided initial evidence of the construct, convergent, predictive, and discriminant validity of the Boardgaming Motivations Scale. Supplemental material and data: https://osf.io/cqusx/

Gendered Experiences of Mobile Gaming and Augmented Reality

Gender differences in video gaming have been observed in gaming motivations, behaviors, and perceptions. Unlike traditional video games, Pokémon Go is a mobile, augmented reality game accessible on a smartphone, so it remains unclear whether previous findings about gender differences apply to this game. This study used a mixed-methods approach to explore the playing habits and experiences of 452 college students. Differences in social media usage, domains and frequency in which the game interfered with, and activities during which the game was played were observed between genders. While students perceived similar risks associated with Pokémon Go, men were less likely to report bonding with others as a personal benefit of the game. Further study of mobile gaming experiences between genders is needed, particularly in relation to social and immersive motivations to play the game.