Teen Risk Factors for Internet and Gaming Addiction

Computer Game & Video Game Addiction Risk Factors

Brent Conrad:www.techaddiction.com
1. Personality characteristics such as aggressiveness, a strong need for new or unique experiences, general anxiety level (trait anxiety), and neuroticism appear to be risk factors for video game addiction.
Mehroof, et al. (2010).


2. For male gamers, being older, having low self-esteem, and being unhappy with one's life in general are video game addiction risk factors.
Ko et al. (2005).


3. People who use computer games to manage their moods may be at an increased risk for video game addiction.
Chappell et al. (2006).


4. Being male is one of the risk factors for video game addiction and computer addiction.
Griffiths (2008).


5. Video game addicts have higher rates of depression and anxiety and lower grades in school. Note that it is possible to interpret this to mean that depression and anxiety are video game addiction risk factors…or that video game addiction is a risk factor for depression and anxiety.
Peukert et al. (2010).


6. Having a positive view of one's intelligence but a negative view of one's competence in interpersonal situations are both potential video game addiction risk factors.
Zheng et al. (2006).


7. Authoritarian parenting styles may be one of the risk factors for video game addiction.
Wang et al. (2006).


8. Playing online games, particularly multiplayer online role playing games is one of the risk factors for video game addiction.
Van Tooik et al. (2010).


9. There is evidence that the same brain regions that are believed to contribute to substance dependence (e.g., the right orbitofrontal cortex and the right caudate nucleus) are also overly activated in gamers in response to video game related images. Thus, the responsiveness of certain neurobiological mechanisms may be another one of the risk factors for video game addiction.
Ko et al., (2009).


10. Risk factors for video game addiction include impulsivity, weaker social skills, less empathy, and limited ability to regulate emotions.
Gentile et al. (2011).

Video Game Addiction Risk Factor