Video games in adolescence and emotional functioning: Emotion regulation, emotion intensity, emotion expression, and alexithymia

Abstract

International audienceVideo-game users represent 40% of the French population and adolescents are the primary users. Yet excessive playing of video games has become a problem in modern society and is manifesting itself in treatment centers for adolescents. Before attempting to gain insight into this problematic use, we must understand video gaming itself and its implications for the gamer. The aim of this research is to propose an understanding of video-game playing based on some dimensions of emotional functioning such as emotion regulation, emotion intensity, emotion expression, and alexithymia. A total of 159 adolescents took part in the study. Regular gamers regulated their emotions more than irregular gamers did. They also felt their emotions more intensely. But regular gamers expressed their emotions less than irregular gamers did. Finally, the regular gamers' alexithymia level was higher than the irregular gamers' level. Especially, they had more difficulty being emotionally reactive. The avatar's evolution in the virtual environment may help mediate adolescents' problematic emotional experiences to give them meaning and enable their appropriation. As such, video games may act as a medium for projecting and experiencing one's emotional life by staging the emotional self, thereby explaining the engagement of adolescents in video gaming

Videogames for Emotion Regulation: A Systematic Review

“…A group of studies employed cross-sectional and qualitative research finding consistent results: videogame playing may enhance emotional intelligence and the mastering of ER strategies. 42,48,54 Nevertheless, excessive videogame playing may negatively influence such competences. 54 This is in line with other studies 72 showing a curvilinear relationship between videogame playing and mental health outcomes, with ''moderate'' gamers showing better mental health and psychosocial functioning.…”

“…Additionally, the identification with a character constitutes a critical affordance to enhance emotional skills. 42 Exploring gaming motivations, several studies agree on the fact that people usually play videogames to recover from stress and negative emotions. 49,51,52 This can be regarded as the simplest way videogames can interact with players' emotions and mood, and it is the specific phenomenon investigated by mood repair.…”

“…These studies were mostly cross-sectional research (i.e., employing questionnaires and large samples) and two qualitative studies using focused interviews. For example, Gaetan et al 42 conducted a survey to explore videogame playing and its relationships with emotional functioning features, such as ER, emotion intensity, emotion expression, and alexithymia. Authors found that regular gamers regulated their emotions more than irregular gamers did, but also felt emotions more intensely and expressed their emotions less often.…”

“Who Am I” and “How Should I Be”: a Systematic Review on Self-Concept and Avatar Identification in Gaming Disorder

“…Most studies on the emotional self-concept revealed that addicted gamers rated themselves as having more difficulties in emotional intelligence, such as recognizing and expressing own emotions as well as in emotional regulation [65,85,90,96,119,141]. However, one study showed that gamers with higher usage showed improved emotional regulation but displayed more deficits in emotional expression and higher alexithymia as compared with those with less usage [103]. The authors concluded that gamers might improve their emotional functionality by learning coping strategies that help them to deal with problematic emotional situations.…”

“…• Study of importance; •• study of major importance GD gaming disorder and not problematic gamers displayed higher social anxiety and loneliness compared with normative gamers [45]. The other study did not explicitly assess GD [103] but found that adolescent regular gamers (playing significantly more than irregular gamers) reported a better emotional regulation compared with irregular gamers. At the same time, regular gamers displayed more deficits in emotional expression and higher alexithymia compared with those with less usage.…”