Playfully managing Sadness?: An Investigation of the Relation between Gaming and Depression

Background: Videogames have long been debated for their effects on adolescents and their development. While the media has mostly picked up on the potentially harmful effects, research has shown both negative and positive effects, observing social connection through gaming. As such, we should consider how the medium can be used to help individuals who struggle with depression. Method: This study investigates the relation between (1) gaming and depression, (2) gaming and social contact, and (3) the individual differences regarding the effects of gaming. This was achieved by using EMA data from the RE-PAIR project to estimate Gaussian graphical network models. The data was provided by 113 adolescents (Mage = 15.83, SDage = 1.41, Ndepr = 33) reporting on affect states (i.e., happy, sad, relaxed & irritated) and daily social contact. Results: For the healthy control group, a negative relation between social contact and gaming was found. Positive relations between gaming and the affect...Show moreBackground: Videogames have long been debated for their effects on adolescents and their development. While the media has mostly picked up on the potentially harmful effects, research has shown both negative and positive effects, observing social connection through gaming. As such, we should consider how the medium can be used to help individuals who struggle with depression. Method: This study investigates the relation between (1) gaming and depression, (2) gaming and social contact, and (3) the individual differences regarding the effects of gaming. This was achieved by using EMA data from the RE-PAIR project to estimate Gaussian graphical network models. The data was provided by 113 adolescents (Mage = 15.83, SDage = 1.41, Ndepr = 33) reporting on affect states (i.e., happy, sad, relaxed & irritated) and daily social contact. Results: For the healthy control group, a negative relation between social contact and gaming was found. Positive relations between gaming and the affect states relaxed and irritated could be observed. A positive relation between gaming and sad was also present. The analysis showed no relations between social contact, gaming, and affect states for the depressed group. Conclusion: While the main analysis provides little insight into the relations between affect states, gaming, and social contact, the sensitivity analysis shows all affect states to be related to gaming. Future studies should properly define what constitutes a “gamer” and sample from this population. This guarantees participants to be regularly engaging with the activity and be able to report on it, rectifying some of the limitations present in the study.Show less

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Playfully managing Sadness? An Investigation of the Relation between Gaming and Depression