Excessive use of Massively Multi-Player Online Role-Playing Games: A Pilot Study

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are one of the most interesting innovations in the area of online computer gaming. This pilot study set out to examine the psychological and social effects of online gaming using an online questionnaire with particular reference to excessive and ‘dependent’ online gaming. A self-selecting sample of 119 online gamers ranging from 18 to 69 years (mean = 28.5 years) completed the questionnaire. The results showed that 41% of gamers played online to escape and 7% of gamers were classified as ‘dependent’ individuals who were at risk of developing a psychological and behavioural dependence for online gaming using an adapted ‘addiction’ scale. Further analysis showed that excessive online gaming was significantly correlated with psychological and behavioural ‘dependence’. It was also found that ‘dependent’ gamers appear to possess some core components of addiction to MMORPGs (e.g., mood modification, tolerance and relapse).

[1]  Peter M. Wiemer-Hastings,et al.  Addiction to the Internet and Online Gaming , 2005, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[2]  Mark D. Griffiths,et al.  The Exercise Addiction Inventory: A New Brief Screening Tool , 2004 .

[3]  Nick Yee,et al.  The Demographics, Motivations, and Derived Experiences of Users of Massively Multi-User Online Graphical Environments , 2006, PRESENCE: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments.

[4]  John Suler,et al.  To Get What You Need: Healthy and Pathological Internet Use , 1999, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[5]  D. F. Jacobs,et al.  A general theory of addictions: A new theoretical model , 1986, Journal of gambling behavior.

[6]  Mark D. Griffiths,et al.  Online Data Collection from Video Game Players: Methodological Issues , 2004, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[7]  Mark D. Griffiths,et al.  Excessive Computer Game Playing: Evidence for Addiction and Aggression? , 2007, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[8]  Wen-Bin Chiou,et al.  Psychological Motives and Online Games Addiction: ATest of Flow Theory and Humanistic Needs Theory for Taiwanese Adolescents , 2006, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[9]  M. Griffiths.  A ‘components’ model of addiction within a biopsychosocial framework , 2005 .

[10]  Mark D. Griffiths,et al.  Demographic Factors and Playing Variables in Online Computer Gaming , 2004, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[11]  Mark D Griffiths,et al.  A qualitative investigation of problem gambling as an escape-based coping strategy. , 2007, Psychology and psychotherapy.

[12]  Mark D. Griffiths,et al.  Breaking the Stereotype: The Case of Online Gaming , 2003, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[13]  Wen-Bin Chiou,et al.  Why Are Adolescents Addicted to Online Gaming? An Interview Study in Taiwan , 2006, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[14]  M. Davies,et al.  EverQuest—It’s Just a Computer Game Right? An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Online Gaming Addiction , 2006, International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction.

[15]  M. Griffiths.  A Case Study of Binge Problem Gambling , 2006, International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction.

[16]  Zaheer Hussain,et al.  Gender Swapping and Socializing in Cyberspace: An Exploratory Study , 2008, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..