Medienaffines und pathologisches Verhalten bei Gamern

The data for this dissertation project were collected at gamescom in 2016. The annual trade fair is a great opportunity to talk to computer game (online / offline) users. It was possible to motivate a sufficiently large group to use waiting times between games/events and arrival and departure times to participate in the survey. In total, N = 294 persons aged 14-30 years (36.4% women, 63.6% men) were recorded. Based on the norms of the German scale CSAS (a new computer game dependency test), the authors subdivided them according to game intensity into three groups of normal (45.8%), excessive (37.4%) and pathological computer gamers (16.8%).
Objective: The central objective of the study was to analyse the relationship between computer gambling addiction and the circadian rhythm of respondents. Other research questions focused on peculiarities in the social environment of the interviewees depending on the degree of computer gaming addiction, on identification processes in the game and on differences in addiction development between the sexes.
Methodical procedure: Questionnaire data collected by standardized and self-developed questionnaires were used. In addition to the published scales CSAS and PSAS, additional scales were used which had been tested in a pilot study. In the statistical evaluation, the dimensionality and homogeneity of the scales used were carefully examined. The group differences were determined by variance analyses. Some of the scales turned out to be too short to allow already secured knowledge/statements. The instruments used were evaluated both statistically and in terms of content with a view to further research and critically scrutinized.
Results: It was found that members of all three gamer groups (normal, excessive, and pathological computer gamers) mostly rate their social relationships (family, friends) as good, but 24% of respondents say that they mostly have online friends. One third of the respondents have only satisfactory to sufficient social support, while 27% rate recognition in school and work as merely satisfactory or sufficient. For the women in all three groups of players applies the following: they rate their social situation consistently more negative than the male participants. For both genders, online recognition is not the key game motivation. 24% of respondents say that gaming has changed their lives. Less than 21% of the respondents say they could manage to be offline for a week. However, the values on the PSAS (Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale) for the whole group are still relatively low (little worrying). Also, sleep duration and quality of sleep are still no cause for concern, although all values regarding the circadian rhythm of the interviewees deteriorate statistically significantly with the intensity of play, in both sexes.
Significant increases, however, show up on the behavioral level, such as eating behavior, especially while gaming. Problematic eating behavior increases statistically significantly with increasing gambling intensity in both sexes. Another observation: Women are increasingly approaching the media use patterns of men. It also shows that the choice of game genre plays a role in increased gaming behavior. The reasons for this and other findings have been extensively analysed and steps have been identified for further research.