The mediating effect of Internet gaming disorder's symptoms on loneliness and aggression among undergraduate students and working adults in Malaysia

Abstract

Insufficient attention has been given to the integration of the mediating effect of Internet gaming disorder (IGD) symptoms on loneliness and four components of aggression-physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, and hostility-in the Malaysian context. In the present study, 410 participants with (a) at least 1 year of Internet gaming experience and (b) between ages 20-to 39 years were recruited using the probability proportional to size sampling method. Participants were undergraduate students and working adults. Selfreported questionnaires (the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale, University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale, and the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire) were used. The present study found that loneliness positively predicted four components of aggression (i.e., anger, hostility, physical aggression, and verbal aggression) and symptoms of IGD. Relationships between loneliness and the four components of aggression were partially mediated by IGD symptoms. The present study enriches and consolidates existing empirical evidence, particularly in the Malaysian context. If the mediating effect is not emphasized, it may lead to spurious conclusions that can significantly diminish the effectiveness of interventions that are meant to manage aggression.

The Relationship Between Technology Use and Problem Technology Use and Potential Psychosocial Mechanisms: Population-Based Telephone Survey in Community Adults During COVID-19

“…This study is the first attempt to extend the associations between PTSD/boredom and PTU into the context of the COVID-19 crisis. Our finding is also consistent with the recent studies on the relationship between loneliness and PTU during COVID-19 (e.g., Zhou and Leung, 2012 ; Boursier et al, 2020 ; T’ng et al, 2020 ). These findings support the compensatory model of PTU which asserts that the reactions to negative life circumstances (e.g., negative emotions due to COVID-19) might increase excessive Internet use and addictive-like symptoms ( Kardefelt-Winther, 2014a ).…”

“…In turn, decreased loneliness may protect one from negative coping behaviors and PTU. Loneliness is a well-documented risk factor of PTU in the previous non-COVID-19 studies ( Seay and Kraut, 2007 ; T’ng et al, 2020 ). One study in Italian adults conducted during COVID-19 also reported a significant positive correlation between loneliness and SMA ( Boursier et al, 2020 ).…”

Biopsychosocial factors of gaming disorder: A systematic review employing screening tools with well-defined psychometric properties

“…In terms of depression and anxiety, a positive association with IGD was consistently reported (Bonnaire & Baptista, 2019;C. De Pasquale et al, 2020;Männikkö, Billieux, & Kääriäinen, 2015;Mentzoni et al, 2011;Siste et al, 2021;Lutz Wartberg, Kriston, & Thomasius, 2017) with some studies reporting that IGD positively predicted the levels of depression and anxiety (Pontes, 2017;Wong et al, 2020). When focusing on depression or anxiety independently, Severo et al (2020) found a positive association between IGD symptoms and depressive symptoms, Singh, Dahiya, Singh, Kumar, and Balhara (2019) found that depressive symptoms predicted IGD, and Stavropoulos, Vassallo, Burleigh, Gomez, and Colder Carras (2021) found that IGD predicted higher depressive symptoms.…”

“…Alexithymia, a difficulty describing feelings, and physical aggression also predicted IGD symptoms (C. Evren, B. Evren, E. Dalbudak, M. Topcu, & N. Kutlu, 2019). Furthermore, T'ng, Ho, Sim, Yu, and Wong (2020) reported that IGD symptoms significantly predicted physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, and hostility, while Lutz Wartberg, Kriston, Zieglmeier, Lincoln, and Kammerl (2019) found that IGD significantly predicted subsequent emotional distress one year later. These suggest that IGD is associated with a poor ability to manage negative emotional responses.…”

The role of loneliness and aggression on smartphone addiction among university students

“…For this reason, loneliness causes individuals to develop a negative perception of themselves, such as being unwanted and not accepted by others and leads individuals to aggression, which is a method they use force to control other people in interpersonal relationships (Kurtyılmaz, 2011 ). Some studies show that loneliness results in higher levels of aggression (Anwar et al, 2019 ; T'ng et al, 2020 ; Yavuzer et al, 2019 ). The point that needs to be investigated here is how loneliness affects aggression.…”