Assessment and evaluation of perceived video game realism as a mediator of internet gaming disorder

Abstract

Video gaming is among children’s favorite entertainment activities. Such digital advances as virtual reality now enable video gaming to be a highly realistic experience. Yet, there is virtually no research conducted on children’s perceptions of video game realism. In three studies, this dissertation addresses this research gap.

As there was a lack of child-appropriate measures that directly assessed perceived video game realism, in Study 1, a self-report global measure assessing the perceptions of similarity between the real and game worlds, namely, the Perceived Game-Reality Resemblance Scale (PGRS), was constructed. The psychometric properties of the scale were examined in upper primary school students, and the results indicated that the PGRS possessed good reliability, validity (i.e., structural, criterion, and discriminant) and measurement invariance by sex.

In Study 2 and 3, the validated PGRS was utilized in testing a newly proposed mechanism of Internet gaming disorder—the social-perceptual model. Although Internet gaming disorder has recently received significant research attention, few theoretical models have been established to explain its development. The proposed model hypothesizes that the social environment surrounding children shapes their perceptions of video games; then, these perceptions influence whether or not children develop symptoms of Internet gaming disorder. Specifically, the proposed model suggests that children's perceptions of video game realism serve a mediating role in parent-child interaction and Internet gaming disorder.

The social-perceptual model received initial support in Study 2, which was a longitudinal study with two time points that were a year apart. Study 2 involved upper primary and secondary school students completing behavioral and self-report measures. The results from the cross-sectional analyses showed that parental care and parental control were associated with Internet gaming disorder through perceived video game realism. Also, the results from the longitudinal analyses revealed that specific aspects of parent-child interaction measured at Time 1 (i.e., negative affectivity, cohesiveness, parental care, and parental emotional support) had temporal effects on Time 2 Internet gaming disorder, which were mediated by Time 2 perceived video game realism.

Further evidence of the validity of the social-perceptual model was obtained in Study 3. It was a cross-sectional study among upper primary school students, which had an aim to explore if mother-child and father-child interactions had different roles in the proposed model. Focusing on maternal and paternal care, the results unveiled that although both constructs uniquely predict Internet gaming disorder through perceived video game realism, only maternal but not paternal care has a direct effect on Internet gaming disorder.

Taken together, the three studies yielded findings that hold the potential to advance our understanding of children's perceptions of video game realism. Their implications and future directions for research and interventions are discussed.