The Effects of Need Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction on Flourishing among Young Chinese Gamers: The Mediating Role of Internet Gaming Disorder

Abstract

Given the increasing popularity of online game playing, the negative impacts of game addiction on both adolescents and adults attracted our attention. Previous studies based on the self-determination theory have examined the effects of the three basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness on problematic video game playing among Chinese young adults. Yet, as more evidence emerged pointing to the possible relation between need dissatisfaction and higher vulnerability for ill-being and psychopathology, the present study aimed to incorporate the impacts of both satisfaction and dissatisfaction for autonomy, competence, and relatedness in explaining Internet gaming disorder (IGD), a condition that may in turn impede eudaimonic well-being as indicated by flourishing. In a self-administered online survey with a valid sample of 1200 Chinese young adults aged 18–24 years (mean age = 19.48 years), the prevalence of probable IGD (for those who reported five or more symptoms in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) symptom list for IGD) was 7.5%. Our results showed that relatedness dissatisfaction positively predicted IGD symptoms after controlling for other need satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Also, flourishing was found to be negatively predicted by IGD. Finally, IGD was found to mediate the effect of relatedness dissatisfaction on flourishing. Our findings suggested a risk factor of relatedness dissatisfaction in predicting IGD, thereby significantly predicting flourishing.

Investigating the Mediation and Moderation Effect of Students’ Addiction to Virtual Reality Games: A Perspective of Structural Equation Modeling

“…Moreover, studies have argued that access to related resources encourages individuals' sense of satisfaction. Positive and negative satisfaction can be created with unbiased dimensions of psychosomatic requirements [41]. Moreover, evidence shows that satisfaction and dissatisfaction explain significant factors in IGD [41].…”

Virtual reality and massive multiplayer online role-playing games as possible prophylaxis mathematical model: focus on COVID-19 spreading

“…Many players without healing skills spent their time indicating safe areas in common chats, while others aimed to spread the disease as much as possible. There have been other cases in the world of similar videogames, linked to bugs that caused real epidemics, even if WoW is one of the most aesthetic in terms of number of players (Hui et al 2019;Li et al 2019a;Sinatra and Szell 2014;Wang et al 2020a). The most complex model developed to deal with a potential COVID-19 pandemic should therefore be SEIR.…”

Internet-Related Addictions: From Measurements to Interventions

“…Based on two observational studies and one case study conducted in the U.K., they developed a reference model for designing interactive online platforms to intervene DA with peer groups, as well as a process model (i.e., COPE.er) for building a customizable online environment for different disease groups. Echoed with the aforementioned findings on interpersonal risk/protective factors [17][18][19], both interventions involved interpersonal elements.…”

“…Given the social connection function of the Internet, several studies of this Special Issue highlight the importance of interpersonal factors of IGD/IA. As aforementioned, need dissatisfaction for relatedness was identified as a risk factor of IGD for Chinese young adults by Hui et al [17]. Yang et al [18] found four types of interpersonal stressors that may exacerbate adolescent IGD, which include parental psychological control, physical/verbal abuse by parents, verbal abuse by teachers, and peer/online bullying (N = 2666).…”

“…It is probably the first report of the potential impact of IA on behaviors related to social unrest. Hui et al [17] applied the self-determination theory to explore the potential effects of the satisfaction and dissatisfaction of basic psychological needs (i.e., needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness) on eudaimonic well-being, as indicated by flourishing, and the mediating role of IGD among 1200 Chinese young adults. IGD was found to mediate the negative effect of need dissatisfaction for relatedness on flourishing.…”