In-Game Need Satisfaction, Frustration, and Gaming Addiction Patterns Across Subgroups of Adolescents Through...

Gaming is a prevalent activity during adolescence, a developmental stage characterized by vulnerability to gaming disorder (GD). According to the self-determination theory, gaming environments can satisfy and frustrate basic psychological needs-autonomy, competence, and relatedness-processes linked to GD. However, existing research has primarily focused on adult populations, and validated instruments assessing both in-game need satisfaction (NS) and in-game need frustration (NF) in adolescents are lacking.

This study aimed to address this gap by validating the Spanish version of the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale for Gaming (BPNSFS-G) in adolescents. We examined its psychometric properties, its relationship with GD and gaming behavior, and differences in NS and NF across subgroups defined by risk factors for GD (sex, the developmental stage, and the gaming modality).

A total of 1174 adolescents (mean 12.07, SD 1.23; middle adolescents: 815/1174, 69.4%; male: 637/1037, 61.4%; online gamers: 388/511, 76.3%) participated in a school-based GD prevention program and completed a self-report battery, which included the adapted BPNSFS-G, a validated GD scale, and ad hoc items (daily gaming time and weekly frequency). The Spanish adaptation of the BPNSFS-G was developed using the back-translation method to ensure its content validity. A structural equation modeling approach was used to test its structural, construct, convergent, and discriminant validity, as well as measurement invariance. Reliability at both the item and factor levels, along with criterion validity, was also assessed.

Through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, the scale structure was confirmed, validating 2 separate measures: a 3-factor second-order model for NS and a unidimensional model for NF, both with adequate internal consistency (NS: Cronbach α=0.75; NF: Cronbach α=0.77). The results also supported its validity, with NF more strongly associated with GD (r=0.49), and NS more closely related to gaming time (r=0.25-0.36). The scales functioned similarly across sex and developmental stage groups, but not across gaming modalities. Notably, NS showed significant differences across all subgroups, especially between boys and girls (t_759.31=8.28; P<.001; g=0.55) and between online and offline gaming modes (t_178.47=5.13; P<.001; g=0.58), with no meaningful differences found for NF.

This study provides initial evidence for the validity and reliability of the Spanish version of the BPNSFS-G for adolescents. The resulting Youth Gaming Experience Scales (Youth Satisfying Gaming Experience Scale and Youth Frustrating Gaming Experience Scale) are brief, theoretically grounded, and empirically supported instruments for assessing in-game psychological need satisfaction and frustration. Given NF's potential as a risk factor, these scales have a strong potential to explore self-determination theory-based mechanisms underlying the motivational etiology of GD and to advance both its assessment and prevention in adolescent populations.