Video Games as Coping Mechanisms in the Etiology of Video Game Addiction

Players' use of video games to cope with stress and anxiety may be an important etiological factor in video game addiction. The present research tests the hypothesis that people with greater anxiety and who use video games as a means of coping with that anxiety are more prone to video game addiction. The hypothesis was tested in 2 survey studies using undergraduate samples. Study 1 found that using video games as a means of coping with setbacks or stress uniquely predicted video game addiction symptoms, even after controlling for frequency of gameplay and other maladaptive coping mechanisms. Serial mediation analysis provided evidence that anxiety associated with mental illness may prompt greater use of video games as a coping mechanism, something which, in turn, is associated with greater video game addiction. Study 2 replicated this serial mediation model. Although limited in their ability to infer causal direction, the studies do suggest the importance of assessing the role of player motivation in future studies about video game addiction, which may help clinicians and media researchers better understand the etiology and potential treatment of video game addiction.