Physiological Indicators of Pathological Video Game Use in Adolescence

• In Event: Finding Myself, for Better or Worse: Adolescents and Media

Abstract

Pathological video game use (PVGU) has been associated with a host of negative psychological, physical, and social outcomes during adolescence, however little research has examined physiological predictors of such use. The purpose of the study is to examine physiological predictors of the development of PVGU across adolescence. The paper involves a 1-year longitudinal study across mid-adolescence. Participants were 374 adolescents and their parents from a large metropolitan area in the Northwest USA. PVGU was assessed via questionnaire, as were a number of control variables. A number of physiological indicators including respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and galvanic skin conductance (SC) (indicies of parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system activity respectively) were measured during baseline, a cognitively stimulating task (Rubik’s cube) and a family problem solving task. Less RSA withdrawal to a cognitively simulating task was related to greater pathological video game symptoms, but less RSA withdrawal to a family problem solving task was associated with the presence of pathological video game symptoms (p<.05). For girls only, SC activation during the family problem solving was related to greater pathological video game symptoms (p<.01). These findings suggest that adolescents who do not find cognitive tasks physiologically stimulating have a greater severity of PVGU. Additionally, adolescents who show physiological signs of stress in a family task were more likely to have PVGU symptoms, and for girls only, have more severe PVGU levels. This study is the first to show that physiological indicators predict PVGU over time in adolescence and has important implications regarding the prevention and treatment of PVGU in adolescence.

Authors

• Sarah M. Coyne, Brigham Young University

• Justin Dyer, Brigham Young U

• Rebecca Densley, Texas Tech

• Nathan Money, Midwestern U

• James Mitchell Harper, Brigham Young U