Abstract
Causes and consequences of pathological gaming among adolescents Causes and consequences of pathological gaming among adolescents Pathological use of video games has been associated with indicators of psychosocial well-being, such as loneliness, low self-esteem, low social competence low life satisfaction, and high aggression. However, few studies have decisively demonstrated whether these indicators of psychosocial well-being are causes or consequences of pathological gaming. To address this gap in the literature, we conducted a two-wave panel study among 851 Dutch adolescents (543 gamers). Causal relations were analyzed using autoregressive structural equation models. These analyses indicated that social competence, self-esteem, and loneliness were significant predictors of pathological gaming six months later. Our analyses further indicated that increased loneliness and aggressive behavior were also consequences of pathological gaming. These results suggest that displacement of real-world social interaction resulting from pathological use of video games is likely to deteriorate existing relationships. This, in turn, decreases their psychosocial well-being.
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