Slack, J. D., Delfabbro, P., & King, D. L. (2020). Toward a delineation of the differences between high engagement and problem gaming. Addictive Behaviors Reports, 16(December 2022).
This study explores the boundary between highly engaged and problematic video gaming. Highlights of the study include:
- the strongest protective factor being the ability to balance gaming with sleep needs, and
- the strongest risk factor was using gaming to escape real-world problems.
Employing a number of measures including:
- Gaming Characteristics questions
- Gaming Disorder Scale (IGD-scale)
- Motives for Online Gaming Questionnaire (MOGQ; Demetrovics et al., 2011)
- the abbreviated World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF)
- Protective Factor questions
...the study corroborates with other study findings “indicating that problem gaming is associated with poorer quality of life and gaming to escape, and provides new insights into the role of protective behaviours in relation to problematic gaming.”
This research provides “greater understanding of healthy long-term engagement in gaming” which can inform clinical practice and public health agendas.