Depression and Disordered Gaming: Does Culture Matter?

Abstract

The dearth of evidence related to cultural and gender variations of established associations between Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and other psychopathologies has been highlighted. Accordingly, the present study examined the association between depression and disordered gaming behaviors, while considering cultural perspectives of vertical individualism (independence and hierarchy) and gender as potentially variating factors. To achieve this, an ethnically diverse online sample of internet gamers from multicultural societies (N = 1032; Australia = 738; 71.5%; USA = 222; 21.5%; other multicultural countries = 72; 13.3%; M age = 24 years; males = 503 [48.7%], females = 529 [51.3%]) completed the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short-Form (IGDS9-SF); the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the Individualism and Collectivism Scale (ICS). Regression, moderation and moderated moderation analyses were conducted. Results demonstrated that gamers presenting concurrently with symptoms of depression and vertically individualistic inclinations reported higher levels of disordered gaming behaviors, with no significant gender differences. The findings obtained imply that practitioners globally, and especially in multicultural societies (e.g., Australia, USA), should consider cultural differences when developing prevention and intervention strategies for disordered gaming.

Internet Gaming Disorder: A Preliminary Exploration of Cultural Orientation Profiles

“…Last, Andreetta and colleagues [24] con rmed the same moderating/exacerbating role of vertically individualistic values in the association between higher levels of anxiety and one's higher levels of IGD behaviours. These ndings are in line with the notion that individuals who relate to cultures of high independency and to an extent social disconnection, such as more vertically individualistic cultures tend to be, are more predisposed to addictive disorders like IGD [14,52,53]. It has therefore been illustrated how a verticalindividualistic cultural orientation may increase the severity of IGD symptoms in the context of a co-existing psychopathology [14,24].…”

“…Considering the latter in particular, a number of studies appear to imply that younger people, adolescents and emergent adults, are more at risk of IGD [12,25,41]. Within that context, one's cultural values/orientation has been recognised as a parameter that may play a signi cant role in IGD [14,39].…”

“…In particular, drives of achievement are hypothesized to be more de nitive for individualistic cultures, connection and belonging for more collectivistic cultures, whereas hierarchy and competition drives as being more related to cultural aspects of verticality [47,48,50]. Interestingly, such culturally linked behaviour motivation differences have been inferred to effect gaming engagement drives underpinning the severity of IGD behaviours [14,24,39]. For instance, a gamer's competitive drive against others in order to climb higher within the game hierarchy (e.g.…”

“…in the online game "Pokemon Go", gamers have to move to real locations in real time; 13]. The combination of such features has revolutionized gaming immersion experiences, with players being often able to place a headset over their eyes and become a part of a virtual, simulated 3D environment [13,14]. Based on such multiplayer, competitive and interface features, certain types of online gaming have also become an increasing business that promotes multimillion-dollar gaming innovations including competitive gaming championships [15].…”

How Passion for Playing World of Warcraft Predicts In-Game Social Capital, Loneliness, and Wellbeing

“…This characterization of gaming as a disorder has sparked controversy as game scholars (e.g., Griffiths et al, 2016 ; Aarseth et al, 2017 ) have raised concerns surrounding its definition, the lack of supporting clinical data, and questions on whether problematic gaming should be viewed as a disorder in itself or as a coping mechanism for a different underlying problem (Kardefelt-Winther, 2014a ). Still, problematic gaming has been associated with a range of harms to our physical (e.g., sleep deprivation, day-night reversal, malnutrition/dehydration, seizures), psychological (e.g., depression, anxiety, suicide), and vocational (e.g., impaired work and academic performance) wellbeing (McLean and Griffiths, 2013 ; Mitchell et al, 2015 ; González-Bueso et al, 2018 ; Bányai et al, 2019 ; O'Farrell et al, 2020 ). Wellbeing can also be harmed through exposure to toxicity in online gaming, especially when players engage in anonymous and impersonal interactions.…”