A study of college students revealed that overall time spent playing video games, regardless of video game genre, was generally not associated with anxiety or stress. The only exception was life simulation games, where students who spent more time on these games showed slightly higher levels of anxiety. The paper is psychological report.
Video games are interactive digital entertainment experiences that allow players to participate in various virtual worlds and challenges using electronic devices. You can play on a variety of platforms including consoles, computers, and mobile devices. Video games include a wide range of genres such as action, adventure, role-playing, simulation, sports, and strategy, each offering a different type of gameplay and experience. Some games combine elements from multiple genres to create a unique and diverse gaming experience.
Video games are one of the most popular entertainment modes, especially among college students. Playing video games can be a lot of fun, but many researchers have linked excessive gaming to mental health problems. In particular, during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, increased gaming time was accompanied by an increase in distress and mental health symptoms. However, scientific evidence regarding the relationship between specific video game genres and mental health remains scant.
Study authors Ishan N. Vengurlekar and Koushik R. Thudi looked at the amount of time spent playing video games across specific genres, including shooters, action, RPGs, sports, other, strategy, adventure, racing, platformers, and life simulation. I tried to find a correlation. — and symptoms of anxiety and stress among college students.
The study involved 311 students from a public university in the southeastern United States who participated in exchange for course credit. Of these, 169 were men, with an average age of 19 to 20 years. Most of the participants were first or second year students.
Participants were assessed for video game enjoyment (using an adapted version of the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory), anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screener), and stress (Perceived Stress Scale). They also detailed their interest in specific video game genres, how much time they play each genre, and the games they play most often.
The results showed that 30% of students play shooter games most often. Participants who enjoyed strategy games reported slightly lower levels of stress, whereas participants who spent more time playing life simulation games showed slightly higher levels of anxiety and stress. Ta.
Other than this, the amount of time spent playing a particular game genre or the level of enjoyment experienced while playing such games were not associated with anxiety or stress.
“Our results show no evidence of moderation and overall indicate that both video game play time and video game enjoyment have minimal effects on college students' anxiety and stress. Although our results appear to suggest that video games have little ability to predict anxiety or stress, our results invalidate the work of other researchers. “Gaming is a widely popular pastime among college students, but little is known about its effects on mental health,” the study authors concluded.
This study contributes to the scientific understanding of the relationship between video game preferences and mental health. However, there are also limitations that need to be considered. The participants in the study were only university students, primarily first and second year students. Results may not apply to other age groups or demographics.
The paper, “Video gaming among college students: Risk or resilience for mental health?”, was authored by Ishan N. Vengurlekar and Koushik R. Thudi.
