Child computer coping game illness

Friendship groups 2. Good friends 3. Circle of relationships 4. Stereotypes, discrimination and harassment. Coping with a new school 2. Repeating a year 3. Bullying 4. Types of communication 2. Public speaking 4. Self-esteem: how you feel 2. Body image 3. Feeling good about yourself 4. Influences on self-esteem.

Teaches kids how to safely manage personal online spaces, e-mail and Internet searches 2. Module looks at issues of privacy and disclosure of personal information on the Internet. Game to try to squish the annoying stress trogs 2.

What is stress? Things that can be stressful 3. Effects of stress 4. Tips for beating stress. Game to identify and destroy the cause s of stress 2. The distribution of participants with regard to sex and age mirrors the findings of past research with males and younger individuals being more likely to play video games e. We posted links to our online questionnaire on various online forums as well as on popular online game sites.

To achieve heterogeneity of the sample, no exclusion criteria other than having access to the Internet and understanding German were specified. Based on the DSM criteria for Internet Gaming Disorder tolerance, craving, loss of control, emotion regulation, withdrawal, and unsuccessful attempts to cut back , this standardized self-report scale consists of 15 items usually with a five-point scale ranging from 1 never to 5 very often.

Gamers indicated how often they played video games for certain reasons. They rated each of 10 reasons separately on Likert scales ranging from 1 never to 4 very often. Gamers were asked how often they usually played various video game subgenres such as first-person shooter, round-based strategy, massively multiplayer online role-playing games MMORPGs , life simulations, and others.

Ratings were made on Likert scales ranging from 1 never to 4 very often. Descriptive statistics and intercorrelations for all measures including sex and age are presented in Supplementary Tables S1—S4. Participants provided ratings of their psychological functioning on the following constructs:.

The 9 items were answered on 5-point Likert-type scales ranging from 1 do not agree at all to 5 agree completely. The two items per subscale were administered on 5-point Likert-type scales ranging from 1 never to 5 very often. We measured general affect as a trait and affect during video gaming as a state using the German version Krohne et al.

On a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 not at all to 5 completely , participants rated the intensity of 20 adjectives. The measure for the assessment of shyness in adults Asendorpf, consists of 5 items that were answered on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 not at all to 5 completely. The 4 items were answered on 5- to 6-point Likert-type scales. A item measure of preference for solitude Nestler et al.

Participants answered a one-item life satisfaction measure on a 4-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 not at all to 4 completely. The 10 items were answered on a 4-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 not at all to 4 completely. We administered a item generalized self-efficacy scale Schwarzer and Jerusalem, , which was answered on a 4-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 not at all to 4 completely. The 8 items were answered on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 not at all to 5 completely.

Due to left-skewed distributions, we logarithmized the data before aggregation. Participants reported their grade point average.

German grades are assessed on a scale that ranges from 1 excellent to 6 insufficient. Thus, higher scores indicate worse grades. Participants further reported their sex and age. Both were used as control variables in further analyses. In a first step, we computed zero-order correlations between the video gaming variables and the measures of psychological functioning. In a second step, we computed partial correlations in which we controlled for sex and age because past research has repeatedly shown that sex and age are correlated with both video gaming Homer et al.

Finally, we explored the unique contribution of each measure of psychological functioning to the prediction of potentially problematic video gaming. Therefore, we computed regressions with potentially problematic video gaming as the dependent variable and sex, age, and the measures of psychological functioning as predictors entered simultaneously into the regression equation. By employing this procedure, we were able to determine the effect that each variable had over and above the other ones.

For instance, we could identify whether general psychopathology was predictive of potentially problematic video game use when the influence of all other variables e. Additionally, we included analyses regarding sex and age differences in the link between video gaming and psychological functioning. Since we collected a self-selected sample where different sexes and age groups were not represented equally, our findings are only preliminary, but may stimulate future research.

First, we examined whether potentially problematic video game use was related to various psychological functioning variables. As can be seen in Table 1 , the results for the zero-order correlations were similar to those for the partial correlations in which we controlled for sex and age. A medium-sized positive relation to the potentially problematic use of video games emerged for the presence of psychological symptoms including depression, anxiety, and hostility.

Furthermore, several coping strategies were differentially associated with the potentially problematic use of video games: Self-blame and behavioral disengagement showed the strongest positive relations to potentially problematic video game use, followed by denial, acceptance, substance use, self-distraction, and venting.

Planning, active coping, and, to a lesser extent, positive reframing were negatively associated with the potentially problematic use of video games. Moreover, the association with potentially problematic video game use was negative for general positive affect and positive and larger in size for general negative affect. However, potentially problematic video game use was clearly positively associated with the experience of both positive and negative affect while playing.

Further, a preference for solitude, shyness, and loneliness were positively correlated with the potentially problematic use of video games. Lower self-esteem, lower life satisfaction, and, to a lesser extent, poorer perceived social support and lower self-efficacy went along with potentially problematic video game use.

There was an association between fewer offline friends and acquaintances but more online connections with potentially problematic video gaming. Finally, poorer performance in school i. These results suggest that potentially problematic video gaming goes along with poor psychological functioning and vice versa. Associations between potentially problematic video gaming and psychological functioning. Table 2 presents the partial correlations, controlling for sex and age.

Using video games to distract oneself from stress was clearly connected to a high level of psychological symptoms. Distraction-motivated gamers preferred coping strategies such as self-blame, behavioral disengagement, self-distraction, denial, substance use, venting, and acceptance, but they neglected active coping and planning.

They showed less general positive affect and more negative affect both in general and while playing as well as more positive affect while playing. These gamers further reported low self-esteem and low life satisfaction, loneliness, a preference for solitude, shyness, a lack of self-efficacy and social support, and poor achievement in school.

A similar but somewhat less extreme picture was revealed for gamers who played video games in order to have something to talk about. However, these gamers reported more online connections.

Gamers who played video games to improve their real-life abilities also reported more online connections. In addition, these gamers showed higher levels of general positive affect.

The strongest association with online friends and acquaintances emerged, as expected, for gamers who played because of the social relations in the virtual world. Although all reasons for playing video games were related to positive affect while playing, the strongest associations emerged for gamers who played because of the social relations , to stimulate their imagination , and for curiosity.

It is interesting that, for gamers who played video games because of the storyline and for relaxation , there was a relation only to positive but not to negative affect while playing.

Reasons for playing were only weakly related to sex and age see Supplementary Table S2. In sum, several reasons for playing video games were differentially associated with psychological functioning. Table 3 shows the partial correlations in which we controlled for sex and age. There was a weak connection between general psychological symptoms and all of the video game genres we investigated except strategy. A preference for action games had the strongest association with affect while playing.

Thus, action games seem to be both rewarding and a source of frustration. A preference for action games went along with poorer school performance. Gamers who preferred role-playing games scored higher on shyness and a preference for solitude and lower on self-esteem; they also reported fewer offline connections. By contrast, preferences for games of the unclassified category on average went along with a larger number of offline friends and more positive affect, both while playing and in general.

Two game genres i. In sum, our results speak to the idea that individuals with different levels of psychological functioning differ in their choices of game genres and vice versa. In a final step, we entered all of the investigated psychological functioning variables as well as sex and age as predictors of the potentially problematic use of video games.

By employing this procedure, we were able to determine the unique contribution of each psychological functioning variable when the influence of all other variables was held constant.

As Table 4 shows, the number of online friends and acquaintances as well as positive affect while playing were most predictive of potentially problematic video game use over and above all other variables. General psychopathology, a lack of offline connections, and poor school performance were weaker but still relevant predictors of potentially problematic video game use.

Prediction of potentially problematic video game use by psychological functioning variables. Drawing on a large sample, our results revealed a medium-sized relation between potentially problematic video game use and poor psychological functioning with regard to general psychological symptoms, maladaptive coping strategies, negative affectivity, low self-esteem, and a preference for solitude as well as poor school performance.

These findings are in line with those of prior work e. Also, reasons for playing video games were differentially related to psychological functioning with the most pronounced findings for escape-oriented in contrast to gain-oriented motives.

Specifically, distraction-motivated gaming went along with higher symptom ratings, lower self-esteem, and more negative affectivity, whereas playing to establish social relationships in the virtual world was related to a larger number of online connections and more positive affect while playing. Furthermore, there were only weak relations between the preferred game genres and psychological functioning. The action games genre was associated with the strongest ratings of affect while playing.

These results on reasons and genres may help to explain conflicting findings of former studies, because in our work we examined various reasons for playing, several game genres, and various aspects of psychological functioning simultaneously. Finally, positive affect while playing and a larger number of online friends were the strongest unique predictors of potentially problematic video game use, followed by psychological symptoms, a lack of offline connections, and poor school performance.

On the other hand, poor psychological functioning seems to be a unique risk factor for potentially problematic video gaming. The presented results are generally in line with previous work that has identified a connection between video gaming and psychological health, academic problems, and social problems Ferguson et al.

However, our study moved beyond prior research by providing in-depth analyses of both video gaming habits including potentially problematic use, reasons for playing, and preferred game genre and psychological functioning including psychological symptoms, coping styles, affectivity, as well as variables that are related to individuals and their social environments.

In addition, we identified unique predictors of potentially problematic video game use. How can the findings on differential relations between video gaming and various indices of psychological functioning — ranging from beneficial results Latham et al.

According to Kanfer and Phillips , problematic behavior e. In the short run, according to our results, playing video games may be a way to distract oneself from everyday hassles and may lead to positive affect while playing and a feeling of being connected to like-minded people, all of which are factors that have an immediate reinforcing value.

In the long run, however, spending many hours per day in front of a computer screen may prevent a person from a developing and practicing functional coping strategies, b finding friends and support in the social environment, and c showing proper school achievement, factors that are potentially harmful to the person. Thus, differentiating between short- and long-term perspectives may help us understanding the differential correlates of intensive video gaming.

When is it appropriate to speak of video game addiction? More and more researchers have suggested a continuum between engagement Charlton and Danforth, ; Skoric et al. In part, this recommendation has also been followed in the DSM-5 American Psychiatric Association, where Internet Gaming Disorder is classified with different degrees of severity, ranging from mild to moderate to severe, according to the functional impairment associated with it. The AICA-S also allows for a differential perspective on gaming behavior by providing ways to assess both the time spent playing video games and the main DSM criteria that indicate Internet Gaming Disorder.

However, in our study we did not aim at making a diagnosis, but at having a closer look at potentially problematic gaming behavior and its correlates in a non-clinical sample. In sum, it seems relevant to assess not only the extent of video game use but also the reasons behind this behavior e. With the present study, we aimed to uncover the association between video gaming and psychological functioning.

Our approach was cross-sectional and warrants interpretative caution because correlations cannot determine the direction of causation. These results of 13 participants suggest that children might learn to better cope with their illness by stimulating play behaviour. For the analysis of the effectiveness of programmes like this, we therefore propose to focus on measuring behaviour and quality of life.

In addition, pilot measurements showed that automated analysis of play can provide important insights into the participation of children. Keywords: Child; chronic illness; cognitive behavioural therapy; coping; development; group intervention; health; physical activity; play.