Pathologic Use of Video Games and Motivation: Can the Gaming Motivation Scale (GAMS) Predict Depression and Trait Anxiety?

Sara Peracchia,Fabio Presaghi,Giuseppe Curcio

doi:10.3390/ijerph16061008

Abstract

Videogaming is an increasingly prevalent activity among adolescents worldwide. The present study aimed at adapting the Gaming Motivation Scale (GAMS) to the Italian context, assessing its psychometric properties and verifying its sensitivity to predict depression and anxiety levels. From a sample of 1899 participants, a group of 388 adolescents who participated in the survey was divided into two subgroups of Heavy (HG, N = 188) and Light Gamers (LG, N = 200). A sub-sample of N = 172 adolescents also filled-in CESD and STAI to assess, respectively, depression and trait anxiety. Internal consistency and factorial structure of the Italian version of GAMS (GAMS-it) have been evaluated. Moreover, a latent regression structural equation model by predicting the CES-D and STAI scores with the GAMS-it factors has been carried out. GAMS-it has adequate validity and reliability levels, showing a very similar factorial structure to the original version. Therefore, this scale can be used to evaluate gaming motivation, which is useful for gaming motivation screening. Finally, it has been found that lower gaming motivation can be related to high level of depression and anxiety. The present findings provide a coherent picture, supporting the reliability and validity of the GAMS-it, that appears potentially useful in predicting anxiety and depression levels in a population of adolescents.

Highlights

In the last decade, a growing amount of literature has been proposed on the new phenomenon of excessive use of video games (VG), and one of the focal points of scientific debate is to clarify if videogaming can have the potential to modify users’ thoughts, feelings and behaviour
From a preliminary check for the normality of distribution, it resulted that all the 18 Gaming Motivation Scale (GAMS)-it items reported a significant deviation from normality (Shapiro-Wilk test ranged from w = 0.45, p < 0.01, to w = 0.86, p < 0.01), so Robust Maximum Likelihood estimation method with robust standard error and robust fit statistics was considered for conducting the CFA (i.e., References [34,35])
Given that high- and low-frequency gamers may differ in terms of motivation and regulatory strategies, it is crucial to test whether the same factor structure is invariant across the two sub-groups

Summary

Introduction

A growing amount of literature has been proposed on the new phenomenon of excessive use of video games (VG), and one of the focal points of scientific debate is to clarify if videogaming can have the potential to modify users’ thoughts, feelings and behaviour. Some negative effects have been documented; as increasing aggression [7]; emergence of attention problems [8] or hyperactivity and mood troubles as depression and anxiety [9]; reduction of empathy [10]; impairment of social behaviour [11]; reduction of sleep time, quality and efficiency [12]; and possible addiction [13]. Public Health 2019, 16, 1008; doi:10.3390/ijerph16061008 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph

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