Title : The associations between gaming motivation and internet gaming disorder: Systematic review and meta-analysis
Abstract:
Background: Interest in examining Internet gaming disorder (IGD) and its association with gaming motivation has surged. Eleven studies were conducted between 2018 and 2021 with a sample size of 4,065 individuals across various cultural contexts.
Methods: Utilizing the Online Gaming Motivation Questionnaire, this study explores the differential impacts of several motivations on IGD. It aims to (1) quantitatively synthesize the body of literature to systematically examine the discrepancies in the magnitude of associations between various components of gaming motivation and IGD and (2) examine the moderating role of cultural dimension on the association between escapism gaming motivation and IGD.
Results: The findings reveal that “Escape” and “Coping” motivations exhibit significant correlations with higher IGD levels, identifying them as potential risk factors. In contrast, “Social,” “Skill Development,” and “Recreation” motivations show weaker links to IGD, underscoring the nature of gaming behaviors. Notably, no significant moderating effects of country groups on these relationships was found, indicating a universal pattern across various cultural contexts.
Conclusions: This meta-analysis highlights the importance of acknowledging the discrepancies among the different components of gaming motivation with respect to their role in the development of IGD and the potential cultural variations in the strength of such associations.
Keywords: Gaming motivation; Internet gaming disorder; escapism; culture; cross-cultural comparison
