TITLE:
An Investigation into the Questionable Practice of Using Excessive Massively Multiplayer Online Game Play as a Marker of Pathological Video Game Dependence among Adolescent and Young Adult Male Players
AUTHORS:
Soonhwa Seok, Boaventura DaCosta
KEYWORDS:
Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs); High Engagement; Addiction; Pathological Dependence; Video Games; Males
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.5 No.4,
March
31,
2014
ABSTRACT:
The
present study explored pathological online video game dependence among
adolescent and young adult males in the context of excessive massively
multiplayer online game (MMOG) play. Psychological criteria distinguishing high
engagement from addiction were used, as a means of examining MMOG play in the
context of an excessive and addictive activity. This is a distinction that has
been lost in the previous research, setting this study apart from other studies
investigating frequency of play in the context of video game addiction. A total
of 1121 male students in grades 7 through 12 across 12 schools in and around
Seoul, South Korea, participated. The study used a 65-item questionnaire
developed to examine constructs related to online video game play. Findings
revealed no statistically significant differences between those classified as
addicted and those classified as highly engaged with regard to items designed
to measure frequency of MMOG play. Furthermore, in comparison to those
classified as addicted, those classified as highly engaged reported a higher
average number of hours per week they felt was an acceptable amount of time
dedicated to game play. All in all, the findings revealed that those classified
as highly engaged spent a significant portion of their time playing in
massively multiplayer online worlds alongside those classified as addicted.
These findings help illustrate the difficulties in using frequency of online
video game play, even if viewed as excessive, as a criterion for identifying
pathological dependence.