Social Context and Gaming Motives Predict Mental Health Better Than Time Played: An Exploratory Regression Analysis with over 13, 000 Video Game Players

Abstract

Video gaming has become massively adopted over the last years and Internet gaming disorder (IGD) has been noted as an increasing mental health problem. In this context, earlier studies focused on raw playtime (number of hours). Later studies also incorporated gaming motives while social contexts were not considered directly. Because social inclusion is one of the most powerful predictors of general mental health, in this study, we focused on the social context in which games are played. The sample consisted of 13,464 participants from 109 different countries, who played an average of ∼22 hours per week. Psychological well-being was assessed with the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 questionnaire, and the Social Phobia Inventory. We found that raw playtime is an uninformative predictor of a gamer s mental health and believe that earlier studies with smaller sample sizes may have overestimated its influence. Gaming motives (achievement and escapism, in particular) were generally found to be predictive. Of importance, the social context in which gamers play had large influence on their mental health and can potentially, in combination with the gaming motives, serve as a powerful predictor of clinically relevant at-risk groups in gaming.