While some researchers have emphasized the benefits of game playing and even suggested a therapeutic use of video games ( Primack et al., 2012 Granic et al., 2014 Colder Carras et al., 2018), others have been intrigued by its potential dangers ( Anderson et al., 2010 Müller and Wölfling, 2017). Most scientific studies in this area of research have focused on the extent of video game play and its diverse correlates. In the last few years, the amount of scientific research devoted to video game playing has increased (e.g., Ferguson, 2015 Calvert et al., 2017 Hamari and Keronen, 2017). This study aims to shed light on these important relations using a large sample.Ī video game is defined as “a game which we play thanks to an audiovisual apparatus and which can be based on a story” ( Esposito, 2005). On the other hand, little is known about the relations between various video gaming habits and psychological functioning. On the one hand, video game use is widespread, and it may come with certain precursors as well as consequences. By spending a predominant part of the day gaming, excessive video gamers are at risk of showing lower educational and career attainment, problems with peers, and lower social skills ( Mihara and Higuchi, 2017). Video gaming is known to have some benefits such as improving focus, multitasking, and working memory, but it may also come with costs when it is used heavily. The amount of time spent playing video games has increased steadily, from 5.1 h/week in 2011 to 6.5 h/week in 2017 ( The Nielsen Company, 2017).

Video gaming is a very popular leisure activity among adults ( Pew Research Center, 2018). Future studies are needed to examine whether these psychological health risks reflect the causes or consequences of video gaming. Moreover, gamers’ reasons for playing and their preferred game genres were differentially related to psychological functioning with the most notable findings for distraction-motivated players as well as action game players.

Results revealed a medium-sized negative correlation between problematic video gaming and psychological functioning with regard to psychological symptoms, affectivity, coping, and self-esteem. Questionnaires on personality and psychological health as well as video gaming habits were administered to 2,734 individuals (2,377 male, 357 female, M age = 23.06, SD age = 5.91). With the present research, we aimed to shed light on the relation between video gaming and gamers’ psychological functioning.

However, the media as well as professionals have underscored the potential dangers of excessive video gaming. Video gaming is an extremely popular leisure-time activity with more than two billion users worldwide ( Newzoo, 2017).

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