Treatment Strategies for Online Role-Playing Gaming Problems in Couples

Baby with the Bathwater? Examining the Relationship between Video Game Use and Relationship Outcomes and the Moderating Effects of Attachment Behaviors among Married Casual Gamers

“…Instead of focusing on typical treatment strategies for video game users that involve reducing or eliminating video game use (Winkler, Dorsing, Rief, Shen, & Golembiewski, ), other approaches based on increasing time together in the relationship and increasing secure attachment behaviors may prove beneficial for promoting positive relationship outcomes. For example, Hawkins and Hertlein () utilize an integrated approach including changing boundaries and rules, improving relationship intimacy, and increasing relationship maintenance activities. Clinicians may want to look for cyclical patterns of behavior in the relationship related to video game use and time spent together so they know at which point to intervene and improve intimacy.…”

“…Still, clinicians do continue to encounter couples who report video game use as a problem (Hawkins & Hertlein, ). When clinicians hear partners express dissatisfaction about video game use in the relationship, it may be important to conduct a thorough assessment of video game use frequency as well as exploring why video game use is perceived as a problem.…”

“…Studies have established an association between gaming and lower relationship satisfaction (Ahlstrom, Lundberg, Zabriskie, Eggett, & Lindsay, ; Lo, Wang, & Fang, ). In addition, clinicians report that video game use is a problematic factor in many distressed couple relationships (Hawkins & Hertlein, ; Mitchell & Wells, ). Among the possible explanations for this is that much of gaming is violent (e.g., first‐person shooter games), and a modest link has been found between such gaming and more aggressive behavior (Greitemeyer & Mügge, ; Möller & Krahé, ; Willoughby, Adachi, & Good, ).…”

Computer‐Mediated Communication in Intimate Relationships: Associations of Boundary Crossing, Intrusion, Relationship Satisfaction, and Partner Responsiveness

“…Hertlein and Stevenson () proposed seven ecological influences that promote changes in couple relationships: accessibility, affordability, anonymity, acceptability, approximation, ambiguity, and accommodation (see Hertlein & Stevenson, ). These seven ecological influences are theorized to then promote change in relationship structures and processes (Hawkins & Hertlein, ; see Figure ). The structural‐functional perspective describes the changes in relationship structures and the interaction‐constructionist perspective identifies relationship processes.…”

“…Hertlein and Stevenson (2010) proposed seven ecological influences that promote changes in couple relationships: accessibility, affordability, anonymity, acceptability, approximation, ambiguity, and accommodation (see Hertlein & Stevenson, 2010). These seven ecological influences are theorized to then promote change in relationship structures and processes (Hawkins & Hertlein, 2013;see The structural-functional perspective consists of two pieces, namely how relationships are organized (i.e., the structure) and how relationships meet the needs of each partner (i.e., functions; Johnson, 1971;. It is concerned with the roles, rules, and boundaries that couples and families create to function as a separate system (Johnson, 1971).…”