Children of the internet: An investigation into the associations between social media use, gaming, and young people’s mental health

In the context of rapid development of digital technologies and the COVID-19 pandemic, young people are increasingly socialising online. Concerns about time spent on social media and/or gaming are prominent in public discourse. These concerns commonly relate to young people’s mental health, with the suggestion that high levels of social media and gaming use might contribute to poor mental health. However, some research indicates that social media and gaming use is associated with higher social connectedness and social capital. There is a lack of longitudinal research that investigates the relationship between social media use/gaming and mental health and psychosocial outcomes. This longitudinal study aims to explore these relationships in a sample of adolescents aged 11-18, across two time points. Regression analyses are used to explore associations between social media use and measures of depression, social connectedness, and social capital. The same analyses are also used to explore associations between time spent gaming and these variables. Findings indicate that higher social media use in particular is associated with lower social connectedness and higher depressive symptomology, in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Findings for gaming use show weaker associations with depression and social variables

What is the relationship between gaming behaviors and social self-efficacy, and does family support impact this relationship?

Sammendrag Bakgrunn: Gaming en svært utbredt aktivitet, og en sosial arena for mange. Det er et åpenbart behov for en mer nyansert anerkjennelse av forskjellige spillatferder blant ungdom, da mesteparten av forskning kun omfavner avhengighet. Ulike sosiale helseutfall i ulike typer spillatferd trenger å bli belyst fra et mer balansert perspektiv. Hensikt: Undersøke sammenhengen mellom ulike GAS spillatferder og sosial mestringstro, og utforske om familiestøtte modererer disse sammenhengene. Metode: Denne studien bruker sekundærdata fra Helsevaner blant Skoleungdom undersøkelsen (HBSC, 2018), en WHO-studie utført i Norge av Universitetet i Bergen. Først ble gruppe- og kjønnsforskjeller undersøkt i hovedvariablene. Deretter ble forholdet mellom spillatferder og sosial mestringstro, samt virkningen av familiestøtte undersøkt gjennom hierarkisk multippel regresjonsanalyse og moderasjonsanalyse. Resultat: En tredjedel av utvalget ble klassifisert til å ha en GAS-atferd, hvorav de fleste var problematiske spillere. Spillatferd var mer vanlig hos gutter. Sosial mestringstro var signifikant lavere i alle spillgruppene sammenlignet med referansegruppen og var lavest i den avhengige gruppen. Familiestøtte modererte ikke forholdet mellom noen av spillatferdene og sosial mestringstro, men hadde en liten, positiv direkte effekt på sosial mestringstro. Konklusjon: Denne studien antyder et behov for flere longitudinelle studier av disse sammenhengene. Det er også et klart behov for at fremtidig forskning inkluderer den digitale verden i konstruktet til sosial mestringstro når man ser på GAS-atferd. Vi oppfordrer også videre forskning til å bruke måleinstrumenter for familiestøtte som kan knyttes mer til spillatferd når det undersøkes familiemiljøer som beskyttende faktorer for negative utfall av GAS-atferdMasteroppgave i helsefremmende arbeid og helsepsykologiHEFR395MAPS-HEFRMAPS-LO

“Belonging without being”: Relationships between problematic gaming, internet use, and social group attachment in adolescence

ABSTRACT: Gaming and Internet use are positively associated with benefits for interpersonal relationships in adolescence, with these behaviors when excessive having been negatively linked with positive aspects of interpersonal connections, such as secure attachment. Using a representative sample of 7918 Portuguese adolescents, with ages ranging from 13 to 19 (Mage = 15.5, 53.3% females), and three self-report measures of problematic gaming, problematic Internet use, and social group attachment (secure, anxious, avoidant), this cross-sectional study aimed to examine the associations between problematic gaming, as well as problematic Internet use, and secure and insecure (anxious and avoidant) social group attachment styles, in the groups with and without these problems. In the groups without problematic gaming and without problematic Internet use, excessive gaming and involvement with the Internet were negatively associated with secure social group attachment and positively associated with anxious social group attachment; on the other hand, in the groups with severe levels of these problems, problematic gaming and Internet use were positively associated with secure social group attachment and negatively associated with anxious social group attachment. These results go against what had been initially hypothesized and suggest that in the case of adolescents with severe levels of these problems, they may serve as an effective compensatory mechanism for coping with the negative effects of insecure attachment styles, which in turn likely contributes to the maintenance of problematic gaming and Internet use.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Dysfunctional eating behaviours, anxiety and depression in Italian boys and girls: the role of mass media

Objective: Extensive research has implicated identification with characters in mass media in the emergence of disordered eating behavior in adolescents. We explored the possible influence of the models offered by television (TV) on adolescents’ body image, body uneasiness, eating-disordered behavior, depression, and anxiety. Methods: Three hundred and one adolescents (aged 14-19) from southern Italy participated. They completed a questionnaire on media exposure and body dissatisfaction, the Eating Disorder Inventory-2, the Body Uneasiness Test, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory – Form Y. Results: The main factors contributing to females’ eating-disordered behaviors were their own desires to be similar to TV characters, the amount of reality and entertainment TV they watched, and the discrepancy between their perceptions of their bodies and those of TV characters. Friends’ desire to be similar to TV characters contributed most to depression, anxiety, body uneasiness, and eating disorders for both males and females. Conclusion: Our data confirm that extensive watching of reality and entertainment TV correlates with eating-disordered behavior among females. Moreover, the well-known negative effects of the media on adolescents’ eating-disordered behaviors may also be indirectly transmitted by friends who share identification with TV characters

Pathologic use of video games and gotivation. Can the Gaming Motivation Scale (GAMS) predict depression and trait anxiety?

Videogaming is an increasingly prevalent activity among adolescents worldwide. The present study aimed at adapting the Gaming Motivation Scale (GAMS) to the Italian context, assessing its psychometric properties and verifying its sensitivity to predict depression and anxiety levels. From a sample of 1899 participants, a group of 388 adolescents who participated in the survey was divided into two subgroups of Heavy (HG, N = 188) and Light Gamers (LG, N = 200). A sub-sample of N = 172 adolescents also filled-in CESD and STAI to assess, respectively, depression and trait anxiety. Internal consistency and factorial structure of the Italian version of GAMS (GAMS-it) have been evaluated. Moreover, a latent regression structural equation model by predicting the CES-D and STAI scores with the GAMS-it factors has been carried out. GAMS-it has adequate validity and reliability levels, showing a very similar factorial structure to the original version. Therefore, this scale can be used to evaluate gaming motivation, which is useful for gaming motivation screening. Finally, it has been found that lower gaming motivation can be related to high level of depression and anxiety. The present findings provide a coherent picture, supporting the reliability and validity of the GAMS-it, that appears potentially useful in predicting anxiety and depression levels in a population of adolescent

Internet Gaming Disorder and the DSM-5: Conceptualization, Debates, and Controversies

Scientific interest in behavioral addictions (such as Internet gaming disorder [IGD]) has risen considerably over the last two decades. Moreover, the inclusion of IGD in Section 3 of DSM-5 will most likely stimulate such research even more. Although the inclusion of IGD appears to have been well received by most of the researchers and clinicians in the field, there are several controversies and concerns surrounding its inclusion. The present paper aims to discuss the most important of these issues: (i) the possible effects of accepting IGD as an addiction; (ii) the most important critiques regarding certain IGD criteria (i.e., preoccupation, tolerance, withdrawal, deception, and escape); and (iii) the controversies surrounding the name and content of IGD. In addition to these controversies, the paper also provides a brief overview of the recent findings in the assessment and prevalence of IGD, the etiology of the disorder, and the most important treatment methods

Internet and Smartphone Use-Related Addiction Health Problems: Treatment, Education and Research

This Special Issue presents some of the main emerging research on technological topics of health and education approaches to Internet use-related problems, before and during the beginning of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The objective is to provide an overview to facilitate a comprehensive and practical approach to these new trends to promote research, interventions, education, and prevention. It contains 40 papers, four reviews and thirty-five empirical papers and an editorial introducing everything in a rapid review format. Overall, the empirical ones are of a relational type, associating specific behavioral addictive problems with individual factors, and a few with contextual factors, generally in adult populations. Many have adapted scales to measure these problems, and a few cover experiments and mixed methods studies. The reviews tend to be about the concepts and measures of these problems, intervention options, and prevention. In summary, it seems that these are a global culture trend impacting health and educational domains. Internet use-related addiction problems have emerged in almost all societies, and strategies to cope with them are under development to offer solutions to these contemporary challenges, especially during the pandemic situation that has highlighted the global health problems that we have, and how to holistically tackle them

Digital Media and Psychological Well-being among Youth

Most of the previous research has been noting that daily screen time has several negative consequences among youth for instance foster loneliness and displace other well-being activities, such as sports or social activities. Meanwhile, media use also gives positive influences such as fulfil the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness or relieving stress and daily hassles. Like the flip of a coin, media may serves both positive and negative impacts into psychological health. Recent research has documented a rapid increase in the use of new technologies such as touchscreen or tablets on mental health issues, however little of the research shown the empirical evidence about its relation to the foremost psychological well-being (PWB) concept. Using data from 147 youth, we analyse the association between digital media use and PWB in a sample of 16 to 24-year-old Indonesian. The digital media use was examined from the screen activities duration and the compulsiveness of internet use. Our analysis shows that screen-time duration and compulsive internet use does not significantly associate with low lever of PWB, respectively. However, the current research found the associations between compulsive internet use and self-acceptance, one of the PWB dimension. Additionally, the finding suggests the presence of gender differences concerning the extent of media use. To sum up, the current findings can be explained as the variation of the possible effect of media on psychological risk in Indonesian Youth

What game we are playing: the psychosocial context of problem gambling, problem gaming and poor well-being among Italian high school students

Gambling and gaming are not infrequent among adolescents and preventing low-risk youth from becoming at-risk appears to be a priority of public health strategies. Greater scrutiny of the risk and protective factors in the relationships and community of young people appears crucial in steering prevention initiatives adequately. This study aimed to explore the role of the qualities of relational networks (i.e. family functioning, perceived social and class support), family and peer approval and view of the social environment in predicting problem gambling, problem gaming and overall well-being among adolescents. High-school students aged 14–18 years (N: 595; female: 68,7%) completed a survey including the target variables. A multivariate multiple regression analysis was performed to examine the role of socio-demographic characteristics and psychosocial predictors on gaming, gambling, and well-being. Multivariate multiple regressions identify a common core underpinning problem gambling, gaming and poor well-being but also the distinct roles of psychosocial variables: being male, with low parental monitoring, and an anomic view of the social environment all predict problem gambling and gaming, which were also found to be associated. Low social support predicts problem gambling but not problem gaming; poor family functioning predicts problem gaming but not problem gambling. All the target psychosocial variables, except approval of gambling, predict poor well-being. On the whole the findings suggest the need to look more closely at the way adolescents, their system of activity and their culture participate in constructing the meaning of gambling and gaming activities and their impact on adolescents’ well-being, so that future studies and strategies can more effectively examine the relational dynamics in which problem gambling and gaming develo