Gaming disorder and gaming motivation : a mixed-method research based on in-game financial expenditure and gaming time

Abstract

Video gaming has become an integral part of the modern society; however, gaming can also become problematic among a cluster of gamers. Although the construct of gaming disorder has been proposed to study such problematic gaming, some researchers have also maintained that gaming is not inherently problematic, and it is important to study gamers’ motivations of gaming. Gaming motivation is commonly proposed to include three components: achievement, immersion, and social. Achievement motivation refers to the motivation to achieve in-game success, immersion motivations describes the desire of immersing gaming experience, and social motivation refers to the incentive to socialize through gaming. In addition, other relevant motivations have also been proposed, with the most commonly examined being escapism motivation, which refers to gaming for the purpose of escaping from real-life issues. The gaming motivation framework posits that although gamers may engage in gaming for different reasons, those who develop strong reliance on gaming to fulfill their psychological needs have stronger propensities to display problematic gaming behaviors. Although many studies have supported such proposition in showing that certain types of gaming motivation are positively associated with gaming disorder, there are several research gaps remained to be addressed concerning the study of gaming behaviors, gaming motivation, and gaming disorder. Utilizing the elements of gaming motivation framework, the present research aimed to conduct three conceptually related studies to address three research questions: 1) whether different types of gaming motivation exert distinct influences on the onset of gaming disorder, 2) whether the influences of in-game financial expenditure on the development of gaming disorder will be stronger among gamers reporting higher level of escapism motivation, and 3) whether excessive gaming time will be the underlying pathway of the associations between gaming motivations and gaming disorder. Addressing the first question with Study 1, we conducted a meta-analysis to synthesize past evidence. The findings revealed considerable discrepancies among different types of gaming motivations concerning their associations with gaming disorder; specifically, such associations were considerably stronger with achievement motivation that that of immersion or social motivation. In addition, the strongest effect was identified to be with escapism motivation. In order to address the second question with Study 2, a cross-sectional study was conducted to examine the association between high in-game expenditures and gaming disorder, as well as the potential moderating role of escapism motivation in such associations. The findings revealed that the positive association between in-game expenditure was stronger among the escapism-oriented gamers. To address the last question with Study 3, we adopted a novel psychoinformatics approach to collect objective gaming time data with a smartphone application. The results revealed that gaming time during inappropriate hours of the day (i.e., late night, working hours) were positively associated with gaming disorder; in addition, the associations of achievement motivation with GD, and that of escapism motivation, are both mediated by gaming time. Taken together, the present research sheds light on the associations between gaming motivation and gaming disorder, as well as the underlying pathways between these two constructs.