Correlates of internet gaming among violent and nonviolent gamers and comparison of their psychological well-being with nongamers in a university student population

BACKGROUND: India’s population has seen increasing access to the Internet and gaming mainly in adolescents and young adults. AIM: The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence and correlates of Internet gaming and its effects on the psychological well-being of gamers versus nongamers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cross-sectional survey was done to enroll a convenient sample of nongamers, violent gamers, and nonviolent gamers. Measures included Psychological general well-being scale-short (PGWB-S), Internet Gaming Disorder-Short Form-9 (IGDS9-SF), name, frequency, and duration of game use. RESULTS: The study enrolled 119 nongamers, 62 violent gamers, and 58 non-violent gamers. The prevalence of IGD was 0.8%. PGWB-S scores of gamers were comparable to nongamers. On multiple linear regression, lower PGWB-S score and higher frequency of use were found significantly associated with higher IGDSF-S9 scores. Violent gaming was found significantly associated with male gender (P ≤ 0.001), frequency (P = 0.012), and duration of game use (P ≤ 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The study provides empirical evidence for the “gaming as a consequence of self-medication” hypothesis.