Publication details
Alexithymia in gaming addiction and engagement
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Journal of Affective Disorders |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032724004750 |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.03.060 |
| Keywords | Gaming disorder; Gaming addiction; Gaming engagement; Non-problematic gaming; Alexithymia; Emotional dysregulation |
| Description |
Background: It has been suggested that alexithymia plays a significant role in substance and behavioral addictions. However, only a handful of studies investigated this construct in relation to gaming addiction, and no study analyzed its differential effect on gaming engagement and addiction. Methods: A total of u adult gamers (Mage = 26.04, SD = 5.78, 94 % male) completed a questionnaire that included the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (and its subscales of difficulty identifying feelings, difficulty describing feelings, and externally oriented thinking), the Addiction-Engagement Questionnaire, and additional questions about gender, age, and time spent gaming. Structural equation modeling was used as the main analytical strategy. Results: Difficulty identifying feelings (ß = 0.28) and externally oriented thinking (ß = 0.19) showed a significant positive effect on gaming addiction. Contrary to addiction, externally oriented thinking showed a significant negative effect (ß = -0.21) on gaming engagement. No other alexithymia subscales were significant. The model with alexithymia explained 32.7 % of the variance in gaming addiction while only 10.4 % of gaming engagement. Conclusions: Alexithymia is a strong predictor of gaming addiction. Gaming engagement seems to be a qualitatively different phenomenon that shows an opposite association with alexithymia than gaming addiction. However, both are related to increased time spent gaming. This suggests a need to distinguish between problematic vs. non-problematic excessive gaming as they have different associations with affect dysregulation. |
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