Gaming disorder, anxiety, and video game features

Abstract

Current theoretical models of gaming disorder implicate an association between psychopathological vulnerabilities and gaming-related factors. However, there is limited research that examines the mechanisms underlying these associations. The role of video game features in gaming disorder has also received limited research attention. This thesis uses a multidisciplinary approach to explicate how anxiety, gaming disorder, and video game features are interlaced. Study 1 is a meta-analytic review on the association between anxiety and gaming disorder that aims to identify broad categories of video game features related to gaming harms. High levels of anxiety and game features related to escapism, achievement, and socialization were correlated with gaming disorder. Study 2 explores the correlation between anxiety and gaming disorder longitudinally in young adolescents. The results indicate that this association persists over time and that certain age groups have increased vulnerability to gaming disorder. Studies 3 and 4 examine how video game features affect gaming disorder and anxiety using novel methodologies. Individuals at high risk of gaming disorder who were in an anxious state prioritised games with achievement-based features, suggesting that the structural characteristics of these features may contribute to the development or maintenance of harmful gaming behaviours. Overall, these findings indicate that vulnerabilities influence the way people engage with video games, and that the structural characteristics of video game features may contribute to gaming disorder. A deeper understanding of these relationships provides insight into the aetiology of gaming disorder and informs strategies that seek to reduce gaming harms.