Interpersonal dependency and online gaming addiction

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Authors

ŠKAŘUPOVÁ Kateřina BLINKA Lukas

Year of publication 2016
Type Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source Journal of Behavioral Addictions
MU Faculty or unit

Faculty of Social Studies

Citation
Web http://www.akademiai.com/doi/full/10.1556/2006.5.2016.002
Doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1556/2006.5.2016.002
Field Psychology
Keywords online gaming addiction; high engagement; interpersonal dependency; motivations to play
Description Background and aims The present study explores the relationship between social motivations and addiction to online gaming and if that possible connection can be explained by the personality traits responsible for social functioning. Methods We employ Bornstein’s concept of interpersonal dependency to distinguish healthy dependency, dysfunctional detachment, and destructive overdependence, and Charlton and Danforth’s conceptualisation of online gaming addiction and high engagement. An online questionnaire was administered to a self-nominated sample of 4,074 online gamers. Two regression models were constructed to separately explain gaming addiction and high engagement using social motivations to play, while controlling for age, gender, and time spent online. Results High scores on subscales measuring dysfunctional detachment and destructive overdependence were positively associated with online gaming addiction, while healthy dependency was negatively correlated with addiction scores. In contrast, the overall role of social motivation was negligible. Discussion People with healthy relationship profiles are less likely to develop problematic patterns of online gaming. High in-game engagement, although sharing some factors with addiction, was only poorly explained by the study variables, suggesting the mutual exclusiveness of addiction and engagement.
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