El uso problemático de videojuegos está relacionado con problemas emocionales en adolescentes

Abstract

Problem use of video games is an increasing risk behaviour. High exposure of adolescents to video games has been linked to a variety of disorders, but the relationship between problem video game playing and emotional welfare is unknown. The aim of the study is to analyse problem video game playing in a sample of adolescents and to determine whether there are differences between online and offline players, in addition to examining its relationship with anxiety and depressive symptomatology. A sample of adolescents (N = 380) completed self-reports measuring video game use and symptoms of anxiety and depression. We found that 7.4% of females and 30% of males can be considered as playing at problem levels. Online players were almost 12 times more likely to play at high frequency than offline players (χ2 (1, 267) = 72.72, p < .001, OR = 11.63, 95% CI [6.31, 21.43]). Males play more frequently, and play more online (χ2 (1, 267) = 50.85, p < .001, OR = 6.74, 95% CI [3.90, 11.64]), with a clear relationship between problem video game playing and anxiety (r = .24; p < .001). In females, there is a relationship between problem video game playing and depression (r = .19; p < .05). Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the psychological variables involved in problem video game playing. The implementation of strategies is suggested in order to prevent pathological gaming and associated problems.

Differential Relationships of Child Anxiety and Depression to Child Report and Parent Report of Electronic Media Use

“…Although there are benefits of electronics for children, potential negative associations with childhood mental health are an emerging topic of interest in current research. There is some evidence that greater child anxiety is associated with higher overall levels of general electronic media use [3–6], as well as with greater use of specific types of electronics, such as video games [5, 7–9], and social media [9–12]. However, prior research has not examined whether such associations with anxiety remain significant after controlling for depression, which is often comorbid with anxiety.…”

Problematic social media use and depressive symptoms among U.S. young adults: A nationally-representative study

“…Prior research has identified media exposures, such as video games, television, movies, and the Internet, to be associated with the development of depression among adolescents (Bickham et al, 2015; Gonzálvez et al, 2016; Holfeld and Sukhawathanakul, 2017; Liu et al, 2016; Primack et al, 2009). Other research has extended this by suggesting that use of social media is associated with depressive symptoms and a decline in well-being among both adolescents (Pantic et al, 2012) and adults (Kross et al, 2013; Lin et al, 2016; McDougall et al, 2016; Shensa et al, 2016).…”

Escala para medir la adicción de estudiantes a las redes sociales

“…Pero la investigación sobre estas frecuencias elevadas de utilización no solo se ha centrado en Internet, sino también en diversas tecnologías que van desde las Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación en general (García-Oliva et al, 2017;Gairín y Mercader, 2018) hasta los juegos por Internet (Bertrán y Chamarro, 2016;Martín et al, 2017), videojuegos (Gonzálvez et al, 2015;Espejo et al, 2018), teléfonos móviles (Pedrero et al, 2012;Gaspar y Cuesta, 2015) y, por supuesto, las RSO.…”