A study on Online Gaming and its effect on Emotional Regulation- Online Survey

BACKGROUND-: The rise and growing popularity of online games mostly in the uncertainty of recent times has led to the appearance of excessive gaming that sometimes can lead to physical and psychological problems. Lack of control over online gaming habits may cause negative consequences like emotional dysregulation in the face of stress. There is a considerable gap in our current understanding of the relationship between emotional regulation and online gaming. AIMS-: The study aimed to assess the prevalence of problematic online gaming and to find out its association with emotional regulation domains. METHODOLOGY-: 108 participants were assessed by sending an online questionnaire asking for the necessary details. Problematic online gaming was studied by using the Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire- SF and emotional regulation by Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale (DERS-18). Statistical analysis was done by using SPSS-21. Pearson correlation, ANOVA, and Independent t-test were done to study the association between different variables. RESULTS-: 19.4% of the participants had Problematic Online Gaming. We found a statistically significant correlation between the increase in online gaming and emotional dysregulation (r=0.38, p<0.01). A statistically significant difference in mean scores of strategies (t=5.45, p<0.01), non-acceptance (t=4.77, p<0.01), impulse (t=3.01, p<0.01), goals (t=3.47, p<0.01) and clarity (t=2.45, p=0.02) was found in those having Problematic Online gaming CONCLUSION-: The results highlight usage of online gaming to attenuate negative emotions. Hence a need to address maladaptive coping styles to prevent the occurrence of novel addictive disorders.