Scoping review of withdrawal's role in contemporary gaming disorder research: Conceptualizations and operationalizations.

The global gaming community now exceeds 3 billion players, prompting increased attention from social and medical sciences regarding gaming-related disorders. Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) was incorporated into DSM-5 in 2013, and Gaming Disorder (GD) found its place in ICD-11 in 2019. A contentious criterion in IGD, not present in GD, revolves around withdrawal symptoms. This paper offers a theoretical foundation on gaming withdrawal symptoms in gaming-related disorders and conducts a scoping review of withdrawal operationalization and conceptualization in 40 selected studies, following PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Most studies employed a correlation framework, relying on convenience samples and self-assessment questionnaires. A smaller portion focused on clinical samples and case studies. Withdrawal was predominantly conceptualized in terms of affective components, with less emphasis on behavioural, cognitive, physical, or neurological aspects. The prevailing terminology for gaming-related disorders was IGD, with only three studies referencing GD as defined in ICD-11. Notably, just six experimental studies included abstinence control. We advocate for an expansion of research on withdrawal symptoms, particularly through experimental studies that implement abstinence within experimental groups and offer alternative operationalizations beyond dominant self-assessment measures.

The tangled ways to classify games: A systematic review of how games are classified in psychological research.

In the face of the rapid evolution of the gaming market and the puzzling overlap of genres, consistency in classification seems elusive. The purpose of the present review was to explore the classification of video game genres in the context of psychological research. The aim was to address the challenges associated with creating consistent and meaningful classifications of video game genres, considering the rapid evolution of the gaming market and recent tendency to create games that could be classified into multiple genres. We performed a search in four databases according to the PRISMA guidelines and reviewed 96 full-text papers (N = 49 909). Through our findings, we reveal how researchers strive to classify genres and the numerous complications that arise from this pursuit. In the face of these challenges, we propose alternative ways of classifying genres. Our first proposal is a new classification of video game genres based on our literature review. In our second proposal, we advocate a more detailed understanding by focusing on specific gaming mechanics, and thus we introduce the innovative concept of utilizing community-based tags, such as Steam tags, as an alternative to genres in psychological research.

It's not just about how long you play. Indirect gaming involvement and genre preferences in predicting gaming disorder risk: evidence from preregistered studies.

Introduction: The strength of the association between gaming involvement and gaming disorder is weak to moderate. Gamers cannot be directly involved in gaming all the time, but how much they are involved in activities indirectly related to gaming during gaming-free time may play an important role. Also, specific game genres may matter. The present investigation focuses on the role of indirect gaming involvement and genres in gaming disorder risk prediction. Methods: Two pre-registered studies were conducted. Study 1 (N = 205) was conducted online, whereas Study 2 (N = 250) was conducted in a lab. In both cases, participants reported their direct and indirect involvement in gaming (DGI and IGI, respectively) and completed a screening tool that estimates the risk of gaming disorder (Gaming Disorder Test). Results: Both IGI and DGI were weakly to moderately correlated with gaming disorder (GD) and moderately with each other. The correlations between DGI and GD were similar to those obtained in related studies; the correlation between IGI and GD has not been previously reported. Hierarchical regression that took IGI together with DGI into account showed an increase in the percentage of explained variance, but only in Study 1. Contrary to expectations, IGI did not interact with DGI. As is consistent with previous research, some game genres were found to be more closely related to GD than others: in both studies, this was an RPG; in Study 1, this was also an MMORPG; in Study 2, driving and shooting games also predicted GD risk. Discussion: Overall, the results clearly indicate that not only gaming time plays a role in GD risk assessment: IGI can also predict it and in some cases may allow for more accurate predictions. Gaming genres once again proved to play a role, but these and similar results should be treated with caution due to the partial lack of repeatability.

Anxiety-Depressive Syndrome and Binge-Watching Among Young Adults.

In recent years, binge-watching becomes a highly popular way of spending free time. Even though binge-watching usually is related to entertainment, there are concerns about some negative and unhealthy outcomes of excessive form of this behavior. The study examined the predictive value of anxiety-depressive syndrome in explaining the symptoms of problematic binge-watching and the tendency to adopt a specific motivation to watch series. Research group consists of 645 Polish young adults. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Depression Measurement Questionnaire, Viewing Motivation Scale, and Questionnaire of Excessive Binge-Watching were used in this study. The results of the path analysis show that anxiety-depressive syndrome and motivation to watch TV series are the significant factors in the manifestation of all symptoms of problematic binge-watching. Moreover, there is a significant relation between anxiety-depressive syndrome and motivation to watch TV series, which especially concerns escape motivation and motivation to deal with loneliness. Furthermore, motivation to deal with loneliness, escape motivation, and motivation to spend free time have mediating effect on the relationship between anxiety-depressive syndrome and problematic binge-watching. Results of this research show that there could be not only normative binge-watching behavior but also unhealthy and problematic form of this behavior.

Impulsivity and Difficulties in Emotional Regulation as Predictors of Binge-Watching Behaviours.

Recently, the question about the potentially problematic characteristics of binge-watching behaviours has been raised in the contemporary literature. Binge-watching is a highly popular behaviour that involves watching multiple episodes of TV series in one sitting. Studies show that binge-watching can be both an entertaining, but also a potentially problematic, behaviour. Therefore, this research aimed to answer the question about how impulsivity, difficulties in emotional regulation, and one's motivations around why they want to watch a TV series predict problematic binge-watching among a group of Polish young adults. The research group consisted of 645 participants. The following tools were then used to measure the study variables: the Impulsive Behaviour Scale, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, the Viewing Motivation Scale, and the Questionnaire of Excessive Binge-watching. Furthermore, a regression analysis was performed on the responses to each measure in order to answer our research questions. Our results show that a lack of premeditation, impulse control difficulties, and having an escapist motivation are all significant predictors of problematic binge-watching behaviours. Furthermore, one's motivations around dealing with loneliness, their motivations around how to best spend their free time, as well as their informative and entertaining motivations were also found to be significant predictors of problematic binge-watching behaviours.

Understanding the Phenomenon of Binge-Watching-A Systematic Review.

Binge-watching is a relatively new behaviour pattern whose popularity has been increasing since 2013, ultimately to become one of the most popular ways of spending free time, especially among young people. However, there is still a dearth of research on this phenomenon. The aim of this study is to present the current understanding and psychological conditions of binge-watching, as provided in the research papers published between 2013 and 2020. This systematic review, including 28 articles, addresses different approaches to defining this behaviour, diverse motivations, personality traits, and risks of excessive binge-watching. Its results imply that there are two perspectives in understanding binge-watching. The first is related to entertainment, positive emotions, cognition, and spending free time. However, the second perspective emphasises the negative outcomes of excessive binge-watching and symptoms of behavioural addiction. There is undoubtedly a need for further research to be conducted on diversified populations to reach more profound understanding of binge-watching behaviour patterns.

Self-Assessment of the Body and Social Competences in the Group of Mothers and Their Adult Daughters.

The main research objective of this study was seeking the predictive role of general self-esteem and the body image in social competences among women and their biological daughters. As it stands, there is a lack of research showing the mothers and their adult daughters at the same time in the context of measuring the same psychological variables, i.e., general self-esteem, self-assessment of the body and specific social competences in the scope of behaviour in intimate situations, situations requiring social exposure and assertiveness. The study group comprised 102 individuals; 51 pairs of mothers (40-64 years old, M = 51.33) and their biological daughters (19-25 years old, M = 22.49). The following instruments were used: The Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, the Contour Drawing Rating Scale, the Body Esteem Scale, the Social Competence Scale, categorized interview (to measure BMI and collect data describing the criteria for selection to the research group). The significance of the differences and the stepwise regression analysis were performed. The results of the study demonstrated the following to be significant predictors of social competences in subjects: General self-esteem B = 0.615, discrepancy real-obligatory body image B = 0.275 among daughters, and physical condition B = 0.362 in mothers. The general self-esteem of daughters positively influences all verified types of their social competences (competences in intimate situations, in case of social exposure and ability to be assertive). However, it is the significant predictor only for mothers' competences in dealing with situations of social exposure. Discrepancy real-obligatory body image: Seems to be the predictor of daughters' social competences conditioning effectiveness in situations requiring assertiveness. The physical condition among mothers seems to be especially important for their assertiveness and effectiveness in intimate situations. The conflict between the real and the ideal body image is also an important aspect in predicting the assertiveness in the group of mothers. The study results can prove to be helpful in creating preventive and educational programs focused on self-esteem and social competencies in women, including the context of the relation between mothers and their daughters.