Derby Study Finds Worrying Levels Of Gaming Addiction Worldwide
9 January 2012
Dr Zaheer Hussain (left) with gamer (right).
Analysis of the results show that 44% of the players showed some signs of addiction, meeting half the criteria of addiction, while 3.6% were classified as addicted by passing the threshold of every item on the scale.
Dr Hussain
Dr Mark Griffiths from Nottingham Trent University
As many as 44% of gamers show some signs of addiction, claims one of the largest cross-population studies into computer game addiction of its kind, published online in the journal Addiction Research and Theory this week.
The study of 1,420 players of massively multi-player online role playing games (MMORPGs), such as World of Warcraft was carried out by psychologist Dr Zaheer Hussain from the University of Derby, and colleagues Professors Mark Griffiths and Thom Baguley from Nottingham Trent University.
The team recruited the participants from 31 countries including the USA, UK, Argentina, New Zealand, Norway, Germany and Japan through online gaming forums. Through the websites gamers were invited to complete online questionnaires that established their levels of game play, and measured addiction to the games using validated diagnostic criteria.
Dr Hussain said: "It is widely accepted that technological addictions exist and can deeply affect people's lives.
"A behavioural addiction, like that to online computer games, is characterised not only by excessive game play but also compulsive or uncontrollable dependence on playing the game, to the degree that trying to stop can cause a person to experience severe psychological withdrawal reactions."
The team compared each individual player's frequency and duration of game play and other lifestyle factors like employment status with their results on the psychometrically validated Game Addiction Scale. Questions on the Scale included 'Have you become angry when you have been unable to play?', 'Do you fight with others (e.g. family) over the time spent playing on games?' and 'Do you play games to forget about real life?'
The respondents' average (mean) gaming session lasted three hours, and the average number of times they played each week was 6.8. A number of these people played very frequently and for long sessions, but a typical respondent played for around 14 hours a week.
Dr Hussain continued: "This level of game play itself suggests that online gaming is a major part of these people's lives, and the results from the Game Addiction Scale show that for many of these players, their hobby has become a behavioural addiction.
"Analysis of the results show that 44% of the players showed some signs of addiction, meeting half the criteria of addiction, while 3.6% were classified as addicted by passing the threshold of every item on the scale."
Those players classified as addicted played for significantly longer during each session than non-addicted players.
Other interesting patterns that appeared included:
- gamers who played more often also played for longer periods
- younger gamers played more often than older players
- older gamers played for longer periods of time.
Dr Hussain added: "Aspects of these online games such as character development or reward systems, such as acquiring new gear or new weapons, have been designed so that gamers become absorbed in the game, play for long periods of time and want to re-connect by playing frequently.
"We want to do further research to better understand the difference between addiction, excessive play and non-addiction, in deciding what types of programmes or interventions can help those who are in need of support in overcoming addiction problems."
Professor Mark Griffiths added: "These games provide a strong stimulus that makes players feel good, which in itself is not a bad thing, however when this tips over into a behavioural addiction that impacts on day-to-day life it can become a large problem.
"Game developers may be able to include in-game monitoring systems that force gamers to log out if they have been playing for excessive periods of time to prevent excessive gaming behaviour before it becomes an addiction."
Ends
A copy of the paper is available on request - or can be downloaded from http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/16066359.2011.640442
