Abstract
Over the past two decades, research into Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) has markedly increased due to worldwide spread of online videogames. The reasons and motivations for playing greatly contribute to its popularity. Escapism and avoidance coping strategies have been studied extensively and conceptualized as motives to play. A growing research base has demonstrated a strong association between these motives to play and negative gaming outcomes. Consequently, the aim of the present systematic review was to provide a comprehensive overview of the role of avoidance coping and escape motives in problematic online gaming. A systematic literature search was carried out using academic databases and a total of 26 empirical studies met the inclusion criteria. The results show that escapism and avoidance coping represent both a predictor of IGD and play a mediating role between many psychological factors (e.g., self-esteem, loneliness, self-concept, anxiety) and problematic online gaming. However, the review also highlights the paucity of longitudinal studies that hinder the determination of the causal direction of these associations. Despite this limitation, the evidence has important implication for developing more effective prevention programs and clinical interventions.
Highlights
The present review identified studies that empirically investigated the role played by avoidance strategies or escape in the development of the problematic online gaming
The main aims of the study were to confirm the existence of this relationship and to synthesize empirical research examining the role that escapism and avoidant coping motives play in problematic online gaming
The findings suggest that escape from real-life problem or dysphoric mood is associated with several negative psychosocial and physical outcomes (Hellström et al 2012, 2015; Kardefelt-Winther 2014b; von der Heiden et al 2019) and might be a predictive factor of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) (Király et al 2017; Kwon et al 2011, Xu et al 2012; Kim et al 2016; Kaczmarek and Drążkowski 2014; Bányai et al 2019; Šporčić and Glavak-Tkalić 2018; Biegun et al 2019; Ramos-Diaz et al 2018; Schneider et al 2018; Dreier et al 2017)
Summary
The aim of the present study was to review and synthesize empirical research examining the role that escapism and avoidant coping motives play in problematic online gaming. The main aims of the study were to confirm the existence of this relationship and to synthesize empirical research examining the role that escapism and avoidant coping motives play in problematic online gaming
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