Video game characteristics, happiness and flow as predictors of addiction among video game players: a pilot study

Hull, DC, Williams, GA and Griffiths, MD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8880-6524, 2013. Video game characteristics, happiness and flow as predictors of addiction among video game players: a pilot study. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 2 (3), pp. 145-152. ISSN 2062-5871

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Abstract

Aims:
Video games provide opportunities for positive psychological experiences such as flow-like phenomena during play and general happiness that could be associated with gaming achievements. However, research has shown that specific features of game play may be associated with problematic behaviour associated with addiction-like experiences. The study was aimed at analysing whether certain structural characteristics of video games, flow, and global happiness could be predictive of video game addiction.
Method:
A total of 110 video game players were surveyed about a game they had recently played by using a 24-item checklist of structural characteristics, an adapted Flow State Scale, the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, and the Game Addiction Scale.
Results:
The study revealed decreases in general happiness had the strongest role in predicting increases in gaming addiction. One of the nine factors of the flow experience was a significant predictor of gaming addiction – perceptions of time being altered during play. The structural characteristic that significantly predicted addiction was its social element with increased sociability being associated with higher levels of addictive-like experiences. Overall, the structural characteristics of video games, elements of the flow experience, and general happiness accounted for 49.2% of the total variance in Game Addiction Scale levels.
Conclusions:
Implications for interventions are discussed, particularly with regard to making players more aware of time passing and in capitalising on benefits of social features of video game play to guard against addictive-like tendencies among video game players.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Journal of Behavioral Addictions
Creators:	Hull, D.C., Williams, G.A. and Griffiths, M.D.
Publisher:	Akadémiai Kiadó
Place of Publication:	Budapest
Date:	2013
Volume:	2
Number:	3
ISSN:	2062-5871
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1556/JBA.2.2013.005 DOI
Rights:	© 2013 Akadémiai Kiadó Zrt.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	EPrints Services
Date Added:	09 Oct 2015 09:50
Last Modified:	09 Jun 2017 13:12
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/3701

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