Purpose matters: Video gaming impacts on addiction symptoms and academic performance of students with disabilities

Abstract

Video games are often considered a distraction or impediment to academic engagement and performance for college students with disabilities. Evidence suggests that students with disabilities may be more susceptible to excessive use of video games. This study explores the relationships between the time spent playing video games and the purpose of playing video game addiction symptoms, academic self-efficacy, academic engagement, and academic performance among college students with disabilities. An online survey was used to guide the data collection, and two hundred ninety-three college students with disabilities completed the survey. The results showed a positive relationship between time spent playing video games and video game addiction symptoms. However, playing frequency did not negatively affect students’ academic self-efficacy, academic engagement, or academic performance. Importantly, when the main purpose for playing video games was not entertainment-related, a significant association was found between video game addiction symptoms, academic cognitive engagement, and peer relationships. This suggested that the purposes for playing video games are more indicative than the frequency of playing for problem gaming behaviors. Suggestions and implications were discussed.