A vacation from your mind: Problematic online gaming is a stress response

The role of stress and motivation in problematic smartphone use among college students

“…The positive association between perceived stress and excessive smartphone use might be attributable to the fact that problematic smartphone use can provide a distraction from stressful events and serves as a way of coping with stress (Snodgrass et al, 2014). As Young (1998) suggested, the impulsive behaviors of individuals with Internet addiction can be regarded as rewards that reduce emotional tension and facilitate future Internet usage behavior.…”

“…Hence, players with more stress in their lives may overuse that cognitive diversion, with attendant problematic consequences. Furthermore, Snodgrass et al (2014) concluded that online gaming may yield different outcomes for users with different levels of perceived stress. Specifically, users with low perceived stress manage to play online games so as to enhance their offline lives, while users perceiving high stress further magnify the stress and suffering in their lives.…”

“…As Young (1998) suggested, the impulsive behaviors of individuals with Internet addiction can be regarded as rewards that reduce emotional tension and facilitate future Internet usage behavior. Internet use can distract gamers' attention from offline problems; so, online gaming can serve a stress-management function (Snodgrass et al, 2014). Hence, players with more stress in their lives may overuse that cognitive diversion, with attendant problematic consequences.…”

“…This notion has been corroborated in a study by Whang, Lee, and Chang (2003), which found that work-related stress is positively related to Internet use amongst people displaying symptoms of Internet addiction, while those not using the Internet excessively reported higher levels of drinking when stressed than the former. Additionally, in a study by Snodgrass et al (2014), it was suggested that problematic online gaming in the World of Warcraft can be conceptualized as a response to pre-existing life stress, which, among highly stressed individuals, magnifies rather than relieves stress levels.…”

Measuring DSM-5 internet gaming disorder: Development and validation of a short psychometric scale

“…Research into the psychosocial effects of video games has increased with many studies being published (Kardefelt-Winther, 2014a, 2014bKowert, Domahidi, Festl, & Quandt, 2014;Kuss, Griffiths, & Binder, 2013;Kuss, van Rooij, Shorter, Griffiths, & van de Mheen, 2013;Lopez-Fernandez, Honrubia-Serrano, Baguley, & Griffiths, 2014;Lopez-Fernandez, Honrubia-Serrano, Gibson, & Griffiths, 2014;Odrowska & Massar, 2014;Snodgrass et al, 2014). More recently, several scholars (Griffiths, King, & Demetrovics, 2014;King, Haagsma, Delfabbro, Gradisar, & Griffiths, 2013;Petry & O'Brien, 2013;Petry et al, 2014) have noted the need for developing a new psychometric tool for IGD capable of integrating the new aspects of the concept.…”