Career as a professional gamer: gaming motives as predictors of career plans to become a professional esport player

Increasing numbers of young video gamers view esports (i.e., competitive video gaming) as a career opportunity, rather than just a recreational activity. Previous studies have explored the motivational differences between esport and recreational gamers and the motivational changes through career journey to become a professional esport player. The present study explored the predictors of career plans to become a professional esport player, with a specific focus on gaming motivations. Gaming time, gaming motivations, and esport-related playing experience were also examined among Hungarian gamers with competitive gaming experience (N = 190), such as years spent in esports, medium and frequency of participating in esport tournaments, the effort put into training before the tournaments, and the plans to become a professional esport player. Binary logistic regressions were carried out and results showed that the gaming motivations of competition, skill development, and social motivations predicted career planning as a professional esport player. Additionally, results showed that younger players were more likely to seek career opportunity as professional esport players than older players. Future studies should focus on novice esport players’ psychological exposure to the hypercompetitive scene of esports, such as high expectations or the risk of becoming problematic videogame users due to their motivational changes

Validation of the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale – Short-Form (IGDS9-SF) in an Italian-speaking sample

Background and aims: The inclusion of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) in Section III of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has increased the interest of researchers in the development of new standardized psychometric tools for the assessment of such a disorder. To date, the nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale – Short-Form (IGDS9-SF) has only been validated in English, Portuguese, and Slovenian languages. Therefore, the aim of this investigation was to examine the psychometric properties of the IGDS9-SF in an Italian speaking sample. Methods: A total of 757 participants were recruited to the present study. Confirmatory factor analysis and multi-group analyses were applied to assess the construct validity. Reliability analyses comprised the average variance extracted, the standard error of measurement, and the factor determinacy coefficient. Convergent and criterion validities were established through the associations with other related constructs. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to determine an empirical cut-off point. Results: Findings confirmed the single factor structure of the instrument, its measurement invariance at the configural level, and the convergent and criterion validities. Satisfactory levels of reliability and a cut-off point of 21 were obtained. Discussion and conclusions: The present study provides validity evidence for the use of the Italian version of the IGDS9-SF and may foster research into gaming addiction in the Italian context

An exploratory study of the association between online gaming addiction and enjoyment motivations for playing massively multiplayer online role-playing games

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are a popular form of entertainment used by millions of gamers worldwide. Potential problems relating to MMORPG play have emerged, particularly in relation to being addicted to playing in such virtual environments. In the present study, factors relating to online gaming addiction and motivations for playing in MMORPGs were examined to establish whether they were associated with addiction. A sample comprised 1167 gamers who were surveyed about their gaming motivations. Latent Class Analysis revealed seven classes of motivations for playing MMORPGs, which comprised: (1) novelty; (2) highly social and discovery-orientated; (3) aggressive, anti-social and non-curious; (4) highly social, competitive; (5) low intensity enjoyment; (6) discovery-orientated; and (7) social classes. Five classes of gaming addiction-related experiences were extracted including: (1) high risk of addiction, (2) time-affected, (3) intermediate risk of addiction, (4) emotional control, and (5) low risk of addiction classes. Gender was a significant predictor of intermediate risk of addiction and emotional control class membership. Membership of the high risk of addiction class was significantly predicted by belonging to a highly social and competitive class, a novelty class, or an aggressive, anti-social, and non-curious class. Implications of these findings for assessment and treatment of MMORPG addiction are discussed

The longitudinal association between anxiety and Internet addiction in adolescence: the moderating effect of classroom extraversion

Background and aims: The risk effect of anxiety on addictive behaviors, including Internet addiction (IA), has repeatedly been highlighted in the international literature. However, there is a lack of longitudinal studies examining this association in relation to proximal context effects, particularly in adolescence. Such findings would shed light on potential age- and proximal context-related variations in the anxiety–IA association that could better inform IA prevention and intervention initiatives. Methods: In this study, 648 adolescents, embedded in 34 classrooms, were assessed at the age of 16 and again at the age of 18 to examine the effect of anxiety on IA behaviors in relation to the average level of classroom extraversion. IA was assessed with the Internet Addiction Test (Young, 1998), anxiety with the relevant subscale of the Symptom Checklist 90 – Revised (Derogatis & Savitz, 1999) and classroom extraversion with the synonymous subscale of the Five Factor Questionnaire (Asendorpf & van Aken, 2003). A three-level hierarchical linear model was calculated. Results: The present findings demonstrated that: (a) higher levels of anxiety were significantly associated with higher IA behaviors, (b) the strength of this association did not vary over time (between 16 and 18 years old), and (c) however, it tended to weaken within classrooms higher in extraversion. Discussion: This study indicated that the contribution of individual IA risk factors might differently unfold within different contexts

An empirical examination of factors associated with Game Transfer Phenomena severity

Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP) (i.e. altered perceptions, spontaneous thoughts and behaviors with game content) occur on a continuum from mild to severe. This study examined the differences between mild, moderate and severe levels of GTP. A total of 2,362 gamers’ participated in an online survey. The majority of gamers experienced mild levels of GTP. The factors significantly associated with severe levels of GTP were: (i) being students, (ii) being aged 18 to 22, (iii) being professional gamers, (iv) playing videogames every day in sessions of 6 hours or more, (iv) playing to escape from the real world, (v) recalling dreams always or very often, (vi) having a sleep disorder, mental disorder or reported dysfunctional gaming, and (vii) having experienced distress or dysfunction due to GTP. In addition, having used drugs and experiencing flashbacks as side-effects of drug use were significantly less likely to be reported by those with mild levels of GTP. In general, the findings suggest that those with higher levels of GTP share characteristics with profiles of gamers with dysfunctional gaming (e.g., problematic and/or addictive gaming)

MMORPG gaming and hostility predict internet addiction symptoms in adolescents: an empirical multilevel longitudinal study

Internet addiction (IA) has become an increasingly researched topic. In the present study, IA symptoms in adolescents were investigated longitudinally with specific focus on the individual’s hostility, gaming use (of Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games [MMORPGs]) and gaming on the classroom level (calculated using the percentage of MMORPG players within classes). The sample comprised 648 Greek adolescents who were assessed over a two-year period (aged 16-18 years). IA symptoms were assessed with the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), and hostility with the relevant subscale of the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90). A three-level hierarchical linear model was used to differentiate individual and classroom-level influences on IA symptoms at age 16 years and over time. MMORPG gamers and more hostile adolescents presented more symptoms of IA. However, being a member of a classroom with a higher percentage of MMORPG gamers appeared to be a protective factor for IA. These longitudinal data emphasize the importance of contextual factors at the level of the classroom in determining differences in IA symptoms during adolescence

How “phubbing” becomes the norm: The antecedents and consequences of snubbing via smartphone

Smartphones allow people to connect with others from almost anywhere at any time. However, there is growing concern that smartphones may actually sometimes detract, rather than complement, social interactions. The term “phubbing” represents the act of snubbing someone in a social setting by concentrating on one’s phone instead of talking to the person directly. The current study was designed to examine some of the psychological antecedents and consequences of phubbing behavior. We examined the contributing roles of Internet addiction, fear of missing out, self-control, and smartphone addiction, and how the frequency of phubbing behavior and of being phubbed may both lead to the perception that phubbing is normative. The results revealed that Internet addiction, fear of missing out, and self-control predicted smartphone addiction, which in turn predicted the extent to which people phub. This path also predicted the extent to which people feel that phubbing is normative, both via (a) the extent to which people are phubbed themselves, and (b) independently. Further, gender moderated the relationship between the extent to which people are phubbed and their perception that phubbing is normative. The present findings suggest that phubbing is an important factor in modern communication that warrants further investigation

The psychological and genetic factors of the addictive behaviors (PGA) study

Objectives: Most of the addiction studies focus on very specific aspects of addictions, often with contradictory results, and integrated studies are quite rare. Experimental studies comparing underlying mechanisms of addictions and analyzing data from an integrative psychological and genetic perspective are almost nonexistent. The aim of the present paper is to describe the research protocol of the Psychological and Genetic Factors of Addictive Behaviors (PGA) study, which applies an integrative approach to understanding the acquisition, development, and maintenance of addictive behaviors. Methods: A wide-spectrum national study was carried out. Data were collected from 3,003 adolescents. Addictions to both psychoactive substances and behaviors were thoroughly assessed via psychometrically robust scales, which also included assessment related to a wide range of related psychological dimensions. Additionally, a DNA sample was also collected from participants. Results: The paper presents the detailed methodology of the PGA study. Data collection procedures, instrumentation, and the analytical approach used to attain the research objectives are described. Conclusions: Future plans, along with potential contributions of the PGA study, are also discussed. It is envisaged that the study will provide a unique opportunity to test possible mechanisms and causal pathways mediating the associations of genetic factors, psychological characteristics, and addictions