Investigating the interplay between gaming disorder and functional impairments in professional esports gaming
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Date
2024-03-19
Authors
Pontes, Halley M.
Rumpf, Hans-Jürgen
Selak, Špela
Montag, Christian
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publication Type
Wissenschaftlicher Artikel
Published in
Scientific Reports, 2024
Abstract
Abstract
The relationship between Gaming Disorder (GD) and the experience of functional impairments has received considerable theoretical attention in the recent past and current diagnostic approaches underscore the centrality of functional impairments as a requirement for GD diagnosis. However, there is limited empirical evidence illuminating the interplay between GD and functional impairments, particularly among specific vulnerable groups. The present study seeks to bridge this gap by investigating an English-speaking sample ( N = 5198) comprising an age- and gender-matched group of Professional Gamers (PG, n = 2599) and Non-Professional Gamers (NPG, n = 2599) sub-sampled from a larger sample of 192,260 individuals. The results revealed that PG were at a greater risk for GD compared to NPG as the prevalence rate of GD among PG (3.31%) was significantly higher and almost doubled that of NPG (1.73%), with PG further exhibiting higher overall GD symptom-load and weekly time spent gaming compared to NPG. Furthermore, PG reported experiencing significantly higher frequency of gaming-related functional impairments compared to NPG, with the in particular affected areas for both PG and NPG being ‘ school and/or work ’, ‘ physical health ’, and ‘ family ’, with other key differences emerging in relation to other outcomes. Overall, the present findings show that not only GD symptom-load but also some functional impairment is higher in PG compared to NPG which highlights the need to develop and support prevention and intervention strategies for this at-risk population.
Description
Faculties
Fakultät für Ingenieurwissenschaften, Informatik und Psychologie
Institutions
Institut für Psychologie und Pädagogik
Citation
DFG Project uulm
EU Project THU
Other projects THU
License
CC BY 4.0 International
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Erratum to
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DOI external
DOI external
10.1038/s41598-024-56358-x
Institutions
Periodical
Degree Program
DFG Project THU
item.page.thu.projectEU
item.page.thu.projectOther
Series
Keywords
Gaming Disorder, World Health Organization, Functional impairments, Esports, Professional gaming, DDC 150 / Psychology