Competitively versus cooperatively? An analysis of the effect of game play on levels of stress

Causal effect of video gaming on mental well-being in Japan 2020-2022

The widespread use of video games has raised concerns about their potential negative impact on mental well-being. Nevertheless, the empirical evidence supporting this notion is largely based on correlational studies, warranting further investigation into the causal relationship. Here we identify the causal effect of video gaming on mental well-being in Japan (2020-2022) using game console lotteries as a natural experiment. Employing approaches designed for causal inference on survey data (n = 97,602), we found that game console ownership, along with increased game play, improved mental well-being. The console ownership reduced psychological distress and improved life satisfaction by 0.1-0.6 standard deviations. Furthermore, a causal forest machine learning algorithm revealed divergent impacts between different types of console, with one showing smaller benefits for adolescents and females while the other showed larger benefits for adolescents. These findings highlight the complex impact of digital media on mental well-being and the importance of considering differential screen time effects.

Two Sides of the Same Virtual Coin: Investigating Psychosocial Effects of Video Game Play, including Stress Relief Motivations as a Gateway to Problematic Video Game Usage

Video gamers can play to negate the psychological impact of stress, which may become problematic when users over-rely on the stress relief potential of gaming. This study used a repeated measures experimental design to investigate the relationships between stress, video gaming, and problematic video gaming behaviours in a convenience sample of 40 students at a UK university. The results indicated that positive affect increased and negative affect decreased, whilst a biological stress measure (instantaneous pulse rate) also decreased after a short video gaming session (t(36) = 4.82, p < 0.001, d = 0.79). The results also suggested that video gaming can act as a short-term buffer against the physiological impact of stress. Further research should focus on testing individuals who have been tested for gaming disorder, as opposed to the general population. Research could also utilise variations of the methodological framework used in this study to examine the intensity of a stress relief effect under different social situations. The study's findings in relation to published works are also discussed.

Video game playing and oral health in school-age children: A cross-sectional study in Turkey

AIM

The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship of video game playing with oral/dental health and harmful oral habits in school-age children.

METHODS

The daily video gamer (n = 77) and occasional video gamer (n = 77) children between 6 and 12 years old were included in the study. A questionnaire inquiring socio-demographic characteristics, video gaming and abnormal oral habits of the children was filled by parents. The children were examined intraorally and decayed-missing-filled tooth, the International Caries Detection and the Assessment-II System scores, dental plaque and gingival indices were recorded.

RESULTS

Of the children; 42.9% daily video gamers played video games for between 1 and 2 h and 57.1% played for ≥2 h while all of the occasional video gamers spent for between 1 and 2 h on video game per day. The daily video gamer and occasional video gamer children were not different in terms of socio-demographic characteristics, frequency of having daily tooth brushing habit, using children's toothpaste and having regular dental checkup (P > 0.05). No statistically significant difference was present between the groups in terms of frequencies of abnormal oral habits and having at least one abnormal oral habit (P > 0.05). Severe gingivitis and advanced caries lesions were more common in daily video gamer group (14.2% vs. 3.9%, P = 0.025 and 90.9% vs. 70.9%, P = 0.026, respectively). Daily video gaming time was weakly correlated with plaque index (r = 0.26, n = 77, P = 0.024). Daily video gaming for ≥2 h increased the risk for severe gingivitis (odds (95% confidence interval) = 4.53 (1.07-19.23), P = 0.041) while daily video gaming for between 1 and 2 h decreased the risk for having abnormal oral habit (odds (95% confidence interval) = 0.39 (0.16-0.93), P = 0.034).

CONCLUSION

In school age, daily video gaming may worsen oral and dental health compared with occasional video gaming. Particularly, an excessive video gaming time seems to be associated with poor oral health in school children.

Play in video games

Video game play is remarkably ubiquitous in today's society given its recent emergence only in the late 1950s. While this fast evolution could exemplify the power of play, video games exploit but also extend other types of play. Here, we review a classification of the ecosystem of video games useful in the emerging field of the cognitive neuroscience of video games. We then discuss how video games may leverage different play types, considering first locomotor-rotational, object, and social play before highlighting the importance of role, rule, and pretend play in video games. With an eye toward comparative studies of the neural bases of play across species, we discuss whether video games may fulfil the five criteria from Burghardt (2005) to identify play. Finally, in line with play's possible preparatory role for adulthood, we review the positive impact on cognition and future learning of action-like video games. Highlighting that not all video games have this impact, we note more granular hypotheses about the biological functions of play are to be encouraged.

College Student Video Gaming: Risk or Resilience for Mental Health?

Video gaming has become a popular method of entertainment for college students. Previous work indicates mixed results regarding the link between video gaming and mental health outcomes. However, little research has addressed how different genres of video games might produce various mental health outcomes. The current study examined whether video game genre enjoyment moderated the links between time spent playing video games and anxiety and stress in college students. College students responded to measures assessing various components of mental health indicating their engagement with various genres of video games. Results indicated no evidence of moderation in all genres of video games. The only significant association to emerge was that of time spent playing life simulation games and anxiety. Our findings demonstrate a minimal influence of video gaming on stress and anxiety levels among college students. Discussed are rationales for the null results and future directions for video game focused research.

Physiological Signal Analysis and Stress Classification from VR Simulations Using Decision Tree Methods

Stress is induced in response to any mental, physical or emotional change associated with our daily experiences. While short term stress can be quite beneficial, prolonged stress is detrimental to the heart, muscle tissues and immune system. In order to be proactive against these symptoms, it is important to assess the impact of stress due to various activities, which is initially determined through the change in the sympathetic (SNS) and parasympathetic (PNS) nervous systems. After acquiring physiological data wirelessly through captive electrocardiogram (ECG), galvanic skin response (GSR) and respiration (RESP) sensors, 21 time, frequency, nonlinear, GSR and respiration features were manually extracted from 15 subjects ensuing a baseline phase, virtual reality (VR) roller coaster simulation, color Stroop task and VR Bubble Bloom game. This paper presents a comprehensive physiological analysis of stress from an experiment involving a VR video game Bubble Bloom to manage stress levels. A personalized classification and regression tree (CART) model was developed using a novel Gini index algorithm in order to effectively classify binary classes of stress. A novel K-means feature was derived from 11 other features and used as an input in the Decision Tree (DT) algorithm, strong learners Ensemble Gradient Boosting (EGB) and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost (XGB)) embedded in a pipeline to classify 5 classes of stress. Results obtained indicate that heart rate (HR), approximate entropy (ApEN), low frequency and high frequency ratio (LF/HF), low frequency (LF), standard deviation (SD1), GSR and RESP all reduced and high frequency (HF) increased following the VR Bubble Bloom game phase. The personalized CART model was able to classify binary stress with 87.75% accuracy. It proved to be more effective than other related studies. EGB was able to classify binary stress with 100% accuracy, which outperformed every other related study. XGBoost and DT were able to classify five classes of stress with 72.22% using the novel K-means feature. This feature produced less error and better model performance in comparison to using all the features. Results substantiate that our proposed methods were more effective for stress classification than most related studies.

Short-Term Effects of Competitive Video Games on Aggression: An Event-Related Potential Study

Previous research on factors affecting video game player aggression has mainly reflected on the violent content of video games; in recent years, some researchers have focused on competitive factors in video games. However, little research has examined the sole impacts of competitive factors in video games without violent content on aggression, and the neurological processes of these effects are still unknown. The present study was the first to examine the electrophysiological characteristics of short-term competitive video game exposure and aggression. Thirty-five participants played a video game in either competitive or solo mode for 15 min, followed by an ERP experiment based on the oddball paradigm and the hot sauce paradigm to measure aggressive behavior. Results showed that playing competitive game mode was associated with faster judgment of aggressive words, larger P300 amplitudes, and selection of more chili powder than in solo mode. Mediation analysis further revealed that the P300 amplitude evoked by the aggressive words partially mediated the relationship between competitive game exposure and aggressive behavior. These findings support the general aggression model. However, this study has limitations, such as a single form of competitive game examined and single blindness, which need further improvement in future studies.

Neurobiological Link between Stress and Gaming: A Scoping Review

Research on video gaming has been challenged by the way to properly measure individual play experience as a continuum, and current research primarily focuses on persons with gaming disorder based on the diagnostic criteria established in relation to substance use and gambling. To better capture the complexity and dynamic experience of gaming, an understanding of brain functional changes related to gaming is necessary. Based on the proinflammatory hypothesis of addiction, this scoping review was aiming to (1) survey the literature published since 2012 to determine how data pertinent to the measurement of stress response had been reported in video gaming studies and (2) clarify the link between gaming and stress response. Eleven studies were included in this review, and the results suggest that gaming could stimulate a stress-like physiological response, and the direction of this response is influenced by an individual's biological profile, history of gaming, and gaming content. Our findings highlight the need for future investigation of the stress-behaviour correlation in the context of gaming, and this will assist in understanding the biological mechanisms underlying game addiction and inform the potential targets for addiction-related proinflammatory research.

Gaming Disorder and Psycho-Emotional Wellbeing among Male University Students and Other Young Adults in Israel

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the impact of gaming and gaming disorder on the wellbeing of Israeli male university students and other adults. Gaming disorder (i.e., persistent, and recurrent gaming activity associated with a lack of control that may be clinically diagnosed) was determined using the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short-Form (IGDS9-SF). Survey participants were recruited from gaming associations, clubs and the gaming community using Facebook. Data were collected in June 2022. A total of 526 males completed the survey (30.9% university students and 69.1% other young adults). Various statistical methods of analysis including regression were used for this study. Significant study group differences revealed university students with more indications of gaming disorder, more burnout, less loneliness, more stimulant (i.e., Ritalin) use, a greater consumption of salt- and/or sugar-loaded foods and lower economic wellbeing. The levels of resilience (i.e., the ability to recover from stress), substance use (e.g., tobacco and alcohol) and weight gain were similar for the two groups. Regression analysis showed gaming disorder as a key predictor of burnout, economic wellbeing and resilience. This study examined only male gamers because of the small number of female respondents. However, additional research is needed about female internet gamers, including their possible exposure to online harassment and sexual degradation. Additionally, additional research should be considered to verify the present study's findings about gamers based on demographic factors and gaming disorder levels. Prevention and treatment intervention measures, including those that can be made available on campus, should be thought about by university administration personnel and student association leaders in consultation with professionals who are experienced in reducing gaming disorder and other harmful behaviors among students.

Gaming in China Before the COVID-19 Pandemic and After the Lifting of Lockdowns: a Nationwide Online Retrospective Survey

With the lockdown and social distancing during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), gaming has become a popular leisure activity. This study aimed to explore changes in gaming behavior after the lifting of COVID-19 lockdowns and risk factors for increased gaming behavior. This online retrospective study included 5268 gamers. A total of 5% gamers scored 32 or higher on the 9-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short-Form (IGDS9-SF), suggesting diagnosis of internet gaming disorder (IGD). Over one-third of gamers reported an increase in time spent on gaming per day after the lockdowns were lifted. Logistic regression analysis revealed that gamers who were female, students, experienced stress, or scored higher on IGDS9-SF were more likely to spend more time on gaming per day after the lifting of lockdowns. These findings highlighted the needs for more effective coping strategies or interventions to prevent excessive gaming, especially for females and students.

The effects of an early intervention on adults' gaming-related problems - a pilot study

Gaming Disorder (GD) has been recognized as an official psychiatric condition characterized by individuals' impaired control over gaming, continuous gaming despite the occurrence of negative side-effects, and gaming taking increasing priority over other important areas of life, thus leading to significant impairments in their everyday lives. To date few prevention and treatment programs have been developed. The present pilot study aimed to investigate the effects of an early psycho-educational intervention for young adults with excessive gaming behaviors. A one-group pre- and post-test design without a control group was used. A total of 22 young adults (20 males and 2 females) aged between 18 and 28 (M = 23.05, SD = 3.02) years old, engaged with the intervention. The severity of gaming-related problems, average gaming time per day, quality of life, and mental well-being were assessed at pretest and post-test stages. Participants demonstrated a slight reduction in gaming time (d = 0.13, p = .545 for weekdays, and d = 0.08, p = .714 for weekend days) and in the severity of problematic gaming (d = 0.17, p = .411) over the three-month intervention period. Changes in neither gaming-related measures nor self-assessed quality of life (p > .01) and mental well-being (d = 0.23, p = .288) reached statistical significance, however. Regardless of limitations on sample size, this study shows encouraging signs that this brief 10-session and three-month educational intervention can achieve positive effects on gaming behavior. A larger scale investigation is needed to develop the intervention further.

Commercial Off-The-Shelf Video Games for Reducing Stress and Anxiety: Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Using commercial off-the-shelf video games rather than custom-made computer games could have several advantages for reducing stress and anxiety, including their low cost, advanced graphics, and the possibility to reach millions of individuals worldwide. However, it is important to emphasize that not all commercial video games are equal, and their effects strongly depend on specific characteristics of the games.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this systematic review was to describe the literature on the use of commercial off-the-shelf video games for diminishing stress and anxiety, examining the research outcomes along with critical variables related to computer game characteristics (ie, genre, platform, time of play).

METHODS

A systematic search of the literature was performed following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) guidelines. The search databases were PsycINFO, Web of Science, Medline, IEEExplore, and the Cochrane Library. The search string was: [("video game*") OR ("computer game*")] AND [("stress") OR ("anxiety") OR ("relaxation")] AND [("study") OR ("trial") OR ("training")].

RESULTS

A total of 28 studies met the inclusion criteria for the publication period 2006-2021. The findings demonstrate the benefit of commercial off-the-shelf video games for reducing stress in children, adults, and older adults. The majority of the retrieved studies recruited young adults, and fewer studies have involved children, middle-aged adults, and older adults. In addition to exergames and casual video games, other genres of commercial off-the-shelf games helped to reduce stress and anxiety.

CONCLUSIONS

Efficacy in reducing stress and anxiety has been demonstrated not only for exergames and casual video games but also for other genres such as action games, action-adventure games, and augmented reality games. Various gaming platforms, including consoles, PCs, smartphones, mobile consoles, and virtual reality systems, have been used with positive results. Finally, even single and short sessions of play had benefits in reducing stress and anxiety.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

International Platform of Registered Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Protocols INPLASY202130081; https://inplasy.com/?s=INPLASY202130081.

Evaluation of Participant Success in Gamified Drone Training Simulator Using Brain Signals and Key Logs

The risk of accidents while operating a drone is quite high. The most important solution is training for drone pilots. Drone pilot training can be done in both physical and virtual environments, but the probability of an accident is higher for pilot trainees, so the first method is to train in a virtual environment. The purpose of this study is to develop a new system to collect data on students’ educational development performance of students during the use of Gamified Drone Training Simulator and objectively analyze students’ development. A multimodal recording system that can collect simulator, keystroke, and brain activity data has been developed to analyze the cognitive and physical activities of participants trained in the gamified drone simulator. It was found that as the number of trials increased, participants became accustomed to the cognitive load of visual/auditory tasks and therefore the power in the alpha and beta bands decreased. It was observed that participants’ meditation and attention scores increased with the number of repetitions of the educational game. It can be concluded that the number of repetitions lowers stress and anxiety levels, increases attention, and thus enhances game performance.

The effects of competitive and interactive play on physiological state in professional esports players

In esports competitions, both motor skills used to manipulate an avatar and psychological skills are important to achieve optimal performance. Previous studies have investigated the role of psychological skill on computer game performance by observing the modulation of physiological state. However, how physiological state is modulated in esports athletes during an esports match is unclear. In this study, we examined two hypotheses to clarify the effects of competitive and interactive play on the physiological state of esports professionals: (1) the sympathetic nervous system of esports players is activated by competitive play and modulated by the game situation, and (2) the autonomic nervous system activities of players in dyads are synchronized positively/negatively by interpersonal interaction.

We measured electrocardiograms (ECGs) in nine professional esports players while they played a fighting video game to investigate changes in physiological state. We compared ECGs collected in the resting state, while playing against a computer, and while playing against other players. We calculated the mean heart rate (HR), temporal pattern of HR, and correlation of temporal HR patterns of the pairs in the player-versus-player condition.

The results showed that mean HR was elevated by the presence of a human opponent compared with a computer opponent, and an increase in mean HR was also observed in specific game situations (beginning of the match, toward the end of a game or match). These results suggest that the sympathetic nervous system in esports players is activated by competitive play and is modulated by the game situation. In addition, the temporal HR patterns in the opponent pairs were synchronized, suggesting that autonomic nervous system activity is synchronized in player dyads via interpersonal interaction during competitive play. Our results provide insight regarding the relationship between physiological state and psychological skill in esports professionals during esports competitions.

Stress-Reducing Effects of Playing a Casual Video Game among Undergraduate Students

To assess the potential effectiveness of playing a simple, casual video game (Flower) in reducing stress relative to participating in a mindfulness-meditation session (body scan) among undergraduate students. Eighty undergraduate student participants (mean age = 19.46 years, SD = 1.43; gender: 48 females, 29 males, 3 preferred not to answer) were assigned to one of two groups in alternating order: one who played Flower and the comparison group who participated in a body scan, each lasting 20 min. Psychological and physiological stress measurements were made before and after each intervention. Self-perceived psychological stress was measured using a modified version of the nine-item Psychological Stress Measure (PSM-9), and physiological stress (heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure) was measured using an electronic blood-pressure cuff. The results were analyzed with a 2 (measurement: pre, post) × 2 (intervention: video game, mindfulness-meditation) mixed model analysis of variance (ANOVA) for each of the four outcome measures. There was a statistically significant reduction (pre- to post-intervention) across all outcome measures. Notably, there was a significant measurement × intervention interaction (p < .001) for the psychological stress measure; participants in the mindfulness-meditation group reported greater stress reduction after the intervention than participants in the video game group. Although these results suggest mindfulness-meditation provides a slight advantage for stress reduction than casual video games, the similarity in reduction across all physiological measures between the two interventions nevertheless suggests casual video games may also be an effective medium. This finding is especially promising given casual video games’ accessibility, ease of use, and popularity among students. These results may inform initiatives by colleges and universities to better support students during peak times of stress and especially during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Maladaptive Perfectionism and Internet Addiction among Chinese College Students: A Moderated Mediation Model of Depression and Gender

The association between perfectionism and addictive behaviors has been examined in previous literature; however, few pieces of research have investigated the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relationship. Using a sample of 2016 Chinese college students, the present study examined the mediator of depression between maladaptive perfectionism and Internet addiction and the moderator of gender in such associations. The findings indicated that maladaptive perfectionism was directly related to students’ Internet addiction and indirectly predicted students’ Internet addiction via the mediator of depression. Gender moderated the direct effect, rather than the indirect effect, of maladaptive perfectionism on Internet addiction. Even though males reported a lower score on Internet addiction compared to females, the effect of maladaptive perfectionism on Internet addiction was stronger for males than for females. These findings revealed the psychological mechanisms from perfectionism to Internet addiction, which contributed to the theoretical development in addiction research and provided implications for interventions to reduce Internet addiction among Chinese college students.

Análise da variabilidade da frequência cardíaca em crianças submetidas a jogos eletrônicos

Objetivo: avaliar a função autonômica do coração de crianças sadias em situações de jogos eletrônicos, mediante a análise de Variabilidade da Frequência cardíaca.Métodos: participaram deste estudo 60 crianças sadias, que foram monitoradas por um monitor de frequência cardíaca digital e submetidas ao experimento com o jogo eletrônico. A análise da Variabilidade da Frequência cardíaca foi calculadacom emprego da transformada Wavelet Contínua.Resultados: pode-se observar um aumento na intensidade dos valores de baixa frequência/alta frequência, sugerindo influência das fases do protocolo, de modo que houve uma elevação nos valores da fase de Repouso para a fase de Jogo, mas não foi encontrado um valor significativo. Entre as fases de Repouso (1,52±0,97 ms²) e Recuperação (1,89±1,04 ms²) houve um aumento significativo obtendo um valor de p=0,003. Comparando os valores de baixa frequência/alta frequência entre as fases Jogo 2,37±1,20 ms² e Recuperação 1,89±1,04 ms², verificou-se uma redução significativa da relação (p = 0,016).Conclusão: conclui-se que Jogos eletrônicos podem provocar um aumento da atividade simpática, diminuindo a Variabilidade da Frequência cardíaca das crianças estudadas, sugerindo uma situação estressante.

Video Games and Stress: How Stress Appraisals and Game Content Affect Cardiovascular and Emotion Outcomes

Although previous studies have found that video games induce stress, studies have not typically measured all salient indicators of stress responses including stress appraisals, cardiovascular indicators, and emotion outcomes. The current study used the Biopsychosocial Model of Challenge and Threat (Blascovich and Tomaka, 1996) to determine if video games induce a cardiovascular stress response by comparing the effects of threat and challenge appraisals across two types of video games that have shown different cardiovascular outcomes. Participants received challenge or threat appraisal instructions, and played a fighting game (Mortal Kombat) or a puzzle game (Tetris). Study outcomes were heart rate variability, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and positive and negative emotion ratings measured before, during and after gameplay. Results indicated that threat appraisal instructions increased negative emotion ratings and decreased heart rate variability, but not blood pressure, which is an essential marker for cardiovascular stress responses. Increased blood pressure and decreased heart rate variability was associated with fighting game players when compared with the puzzle game players, indicating a cardiovascular stress response; however, fighting game players also reported higher positive emotion ratings. Based on the study findings, video games do not induce stress responses like mental stressors used in previous research, demonstrating that the interactive player experience in video gaming may have more complex effects on stress outcomes. Future research should comprehensively measure biopsychosocial stress indicators and multiple emotional states over time to fully examine the relationship between video games and stress.

Problematic gaming behaviour and health-related outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the interplay between problematic gaming behaviour and health-related outcomes at different developmental stages. A total of 50 empirical studies met the specified inclusion criteria, and a meta-analysis using correlation coefficients was used for the studies that reported adverse health implications regarding the impact of problematic gaming behaviour on depression, anxiety, obsessive–compulsive disorder and somatisation. Overall, the results suggested that problematic gaming behaviour is significantly associated with a wide range of detrimental health-related outcomes. Finally, the limitations of this review alongside its implications were discussed and considered for future research.