The role of emotion regulation in gaming disorder: A quasi-experimental approach

Escapism, a peripheral criterion for gaming disorder (GD), is a commonly endorsed motivation among individuals with problematic video gaming. The goal of the present study was to investigate the association between GD and emotion dysregulation by comparing individuals who met the diagnostic criteria for internet gaming disorder (IGD group) and individuals who do not report any problematic video gaming (non-IGD group).

After completing self-reports on emotion regulation and coping strategies, participants (N = 208; problematic gamers n = 86, non-problematic gamers n = 122) were randomly assigned to either a stress-inducing or non-stressful situation via bogus essay performance feedback. Afterward, participants were given an option to engage in either problem-focused coping or escapism.

Results demonstrated that IGD group reported more difficulties in emotion regulation in general than non-IGD group. Both groups were similar in their use of adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation and coping strategies except for their use of anger regulation; however, when participants' sex was controlled for, IGD group reported more use of avoidance coping. Individuals in the IGD group were more likely to choose escapism over problem-focused coping than those in the non-IGD group, regardless of whether they received stress-inducing feedback. The association between IGD group status and escapism became non-significant when participants' sex was accounted for.

These results suggest that the association between GD and emotion dysregulation could be due to gamers' compulsive reliance on video games over other alternative coping strategies to manage their mood, and sex should be taken into consideration when examining these relationships.