Probl Hig Epidemiol 2019, 100(2): 95-103pl

Computer gaming and symptoms of addiction in relation to selected emotional competencies in adolescents

Martyna Bójko, Anna Dzielska, Joanna Mazur, Anna Oblacińska

Instytut Matki i Dziecka w Warszawie

Summary
Introduction. Playing computer games is a very popular way of spending free time for young people. More attention should be paid to the potential effects of problematic gaming, such as deterioration of emotional competencies.
Aim. The aim of the study is to provide current data on computer gaming and to assess the relationship between trust and empathy and the frequency of gaming, and the symptoms of related disorders.
Material & method. The data come from a pilot study conducted among 539 middle school students in 2017 as a part of the HBSC (Health Behaviour in School-aged Children) study. A scale for measuring empathy, and trust visual scale were applied, as well as the scale of problematic playing (Internet Gaming Disorder), in the subsample of players.
Results. Almost every third teenager plays computer games 4 times a week or more. Five or more symptoms of addiction were reported by 12.1% of respondents. A negative correlation between problem gaming and the level of empathy and trust was demonstrated. In the multifactorial generalized linear model, age and problem gaming turned out to be significant predictors of the level of trust. Gender is an important confounder of this relationship, because a significant relationship is maintained only in boys.
Conclusion. Problematic gaming may be a factor adversely affecting the development of selected emotional competencies of teenagers, but could also be recognized as an important marker of existing problems in social relationships.

Key words:  youth, addition, computer games, empathy, trust