Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Serious Games
Date Submitted: Dec 29, 2020
Open Peer Review Period: Dec 28, 2020 - Feb 22, 2021
Date Accepted: Apr 2, 2021
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Leisure and problem gaming behaviour among children and adolescents during school closures caused by COVID-19 in Hong Kong: A school-based quantitative survey
ABSTRACT
Background:
School closures during COVID-19 may have exacerbated students’ loneliness, addictive behaviour, and poor mental health. These mental health issues confronting young people are of public concern.
Objective:
The study aimed to examine the association between loneliness and gaming addiction among young people in Hong Kong and to investigate how familial factors, psychological distress, and gender differences moderate the relationships.
Methods:
This cross-sectional study was conducted in June 2020 when school reopened after 6 months of school suspension. Participants were 2,863 children and adolescents in primary (grades 4-6) and secondary (grades 7-8) schools (female: 52.5%). Chi-square tests, one-way ANOVA, and independent-samples t-tests were performed to compare the difference of distribution in gaming addictions across gender, age, and other socio-demographic characteristics. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors that relate to excessive or pathological gaming, separately, in comparison with leisure gaming.
Results:
Approximately 88% of the participants played video games during the COVID-19 pandemic. The prevalence of excessive and pathological game addiction was 20.9% and 5.3%, respectively. More male students had gaming addiction symptoms than females. The multinomial logistic regressions showed that feeling lonely was associated with more problematic gaming behaviours, and the association was stronger for older female students. Low socioeconomic status, less parental support and supervision, and poor mental health were risk factors for gaming addiction, especially among primary school students. After being adjusted for depressive symptoms, loneliness was negatively associated with gaming addiction.
Conclusions:
Loneliness was associated with gaming addiction and the finding of this study suggested that the association was similar across gender and age among young people. Familial support and supervision during school closures can protect young people from developing problematic gaming behaviour. Results of the study have implications for prevention and early intervention for policy makers and game developers.
Citation
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Copyright
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