Typology Of Czech And Polish Grammar School Students By Computer Game Addiction

Abstract

The paper describes the results of an international comparative research on the degree of computer game addiction among 18-year-old Czech grammar school students and Polish lycée students. For the purposes of the research a quantitative research strategy was used. The author developed a questionnaire to identify the degree of addictive behaviour in students in relation to computer games. The research sample comprised 525 Czech and 122 Polish students from 13 randomly selected grammar schools/lycées. The research was carried out in 2016 in the Czech Republic and followed by a comparative study in Poland in 2017. The aim of the subsequent statistical analysis was to identify groups of 18-year-old students by their addictive behaviour and perform an international comparison. The following methods were used: globalized cluster analysis, U-test, ANOVA analysis of variance. For the purposes of nominal data analysis the chi-squared test of independence was used. The degree of addictive behaviour was expressed as addiction score (0-60). A comparison of the degree of addiction revealed statistically significant differences between students from the two countries (score of 11.52 in CZ and 14.05 in PL). Polish students, unlike Czech students, were classified into two groups by addictive behaviour. The first group (approximately 30%) showed a higher degree of addictive behaviour, played PC games for a longer time per day, preferred online games, comprised mostly boys, played more often in classes and stayed up late more often. The group of Czech students was classified into three groups with different characteristics.