Dr. Gaspar is an experimental psychologist with a diverse range of interests. His primary areas of expertise are in psychophysics and neuroscience, and he has a record of well-cited publications in those areas. In collaboration with Professor Justin Thomas and the wonderful research team at Sync (KSA), Dr. Gaspar is currently researching behavioral addiction and social perception.
Abstract
Culture and parenthood: A multinational, multilevel model of video game disorder
Rationale
Playing video games can become maladaptive and associated with clinically significant social and occupational impairments. This Video Game Disorder (VGD) is also linked with poorer health and well-being. Much of our existing VGD knowledge comes from single nation studies, heavily focused on adolescent and college-age samples. This study uses data from Ithra's 2021 global digital well-being survey to explore VGD tendencies and identify socio-demographic and cultural correlates.
Methodology
Participants (N = 14,500) were representative adult samples drawn from 29 nations. All participants provided socio-demographic data and completed a measure of VGD, along with questions assessing general usage patterns.
Using a linear mixed model that takes into account socio-demographic factors, we ranked countries by nation-level estimates of VGD score.
Results
From the lowest to highest nations, VGD scores varied by as much as 20-percent of the maximum possible score. After controlling for demographic variables, a clustering of global regions emerged with Latin American nations with the lowest scores, Western-European nations in the middle, and other nations near the top. This raises novel questions about cultural differences that might affect tendencies toward higher VGD. Several individual-level correlates were also identified, including a novel interaction that suggests parenthood encourages the persistence of problematic gaming habits. Similar patterns with problematic social media use suggest common mechanisms.
Conclusions
These findings can help inform public policy and public health initiatives to reduce VGD prevalence.