title: Problem video game playing is related to emotional distress in adolescents.
abstract: Problem use of video games is an increasing risk behaviour. High exposure of adolescents to video games has been linked to a variety of disorders, but the relationship between problem video game playing and emotional welfare is unknown. The aim of the study is to analyse problem video game playing in a sample of adolescents and to determine whether there are differences between online and offline players, in addition to examining its relationship with anxiety and depressive symptomatology. A sample of adolescents (N = 380) completed self-reports measuring video game use and symptoms of anxiety and depression. We found that 7.4% of females and 30% of males can be considered as playing at problem levels. Online players were almost 12 times more likely to play at high frequency than offline players (χ2 (1, 267) = 72.72, p &lt; .001, OR = 11.63, 95% CI [6.31, 21.43]). Males play more frequently, and play more online (χ2 (1, 267) = 50.85, p &lt; .001, OR = 6.74, 95% CI [3.90, 11.64]), with a clear relationship between problem video game playing and anxiety (r = .24; p &lt; .001). In females, there is a relationship between problem video game playing and depression (r = .19; p &lt; .05). Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the psychological variables involved in problem video game playing. The implementation of strategies is suggested in order to prevent pathological gaming and associated problems.
authors.affiliation: Universidad Miguel Hernández. mgonzalvez@umh.es.
authors.forename: María T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Gonzálvez
authors.forename: José P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Espada
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tejeiro
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000209:etiology*; D002648:Child; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*; D018910:Video Games / Q000523:psychology*