MMORPG gaming and hostility predict Internet Addiction symptoms in adolescents: An empirical multilevel longitudinal study

Highlights

• Internet Addiction (IA) was examined in 648 adolescents at 16 and 18 years.

• Hostility playing and MMORPG playing were studied.

• Hostility and MMORPG playing predicted IA.

• Higher classroom percentage of MMORPG players decreased IA.

Abstract

Internet Addiction (IA) has become an increasingly researched topic. In the present study, IA symptoms in adolescents were investigated longitudinally with specific focus on the individual's hostility, gaming use (of Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games [MMORPGs]) and gaming on the classroom level (calculated using the percentage of MMORPG players within classes). The sample comprised 648 Greek adolescents who were assessed over a two-year period (aged 16–18 years). IA symptoms were assessed with the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), and hostility with the relevant subscale of the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90). A three-level hierarchical linear model was used to differentiate individual and classroom-level influences on IA symptoms at age 16 years and over time. MMORPG gamers and more hostile adolescents presented more symptoms of IA. However, being a member of a classroom with a higher percentage of MMORPG gamers appeared to be a protective factor for IA. These longitudinal data emphasize the importance of contextual factors at the level of the classroom in determining differences in IA symptoms during adolescence.

Introduction

Over the past decade, research into problematic Internet use among both adolescents and adults has increased (Kuss, Griffiths, Karila, & Billieux, 2014). Internet use can reinforce individuals' social ties and professional development, and contribute to adaptation to their everyday life environments (Rice & Barman-Adhikari, 2014). However, a minority of Internet users – including adolescents – exhibit excessive Internet use, often described as addictive, with serious repercussions for their wellbeing and future development (Thorsteinsson & Davey, 2014). This behavior has been termed in a number of different ways, including problematic or compulsive Internet use, and Internet Addiction (IA) (Kuss et al., 2014). In the present paper, IA is conceptualized as an excessive preoccupation with the Internet that causes impairment or distress, while its symptoms may vary from minimum to extreme (Young, 1998).

The different severity levels of IA symptoms could be particularly significant in adolescence and especially the ages 16 to 18 years. This period precedes the age range of highest Internet access (18–24 years) both in Greece and internationally (Madden et al., 2013, Society of Information Observatory, 2010). Moreover, addictive patterns emerging in late adolescence have been suggested to continue into adulthood (Englund, Egeland, Oliva, & Collins, 2008).

To examine factors that explain IA symptom severity in adolescence, the present paper integrates the model of development and maintenance of Internet Addiction (Brand, Young, & Laier, 2014) with Griffiths (2005) biopsychosocial addiction framework. The first model differentiates between functional and dysfunctional Internet use, suggesting that it is the interaction over time between individual and Internet activity-related factors (e.g., online gaming) that explains IA. Griffiths additionally illustrated the contribution of contextual influences to the level of addiction symptoms. Therefore, IA symptoms are conceived as the outcome of the interplay between individual, Internet activity, and contextual factors over time.

Considering individual IA factors, the role of hostility has been studied among adolescents (Kuss et al., 2014, Yen et al., 2007). Additionally, clinical entities closely related to hostility (e.g., lack of self-control and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder symptoms) have been consistently associated with IA (LaRose et al., 2003, Yen et al., 2007). In the present paper, hostility is conceived as comprising thoughts, feelings, and/or behaviors characterizing the negative affect state of anger, including qualities such as aggression, irritability, rage, and resentment (Holi, 2003).

Although hostility is relatively common in adolescence (Gilmore and Meersand, 2014, Moffitt, 1993), it has been linked to the onset of various addictive behaviors during this period, including alcohol and substance abuse (Dom et al., 2006, Patel and Greydanus, 1999). Considering IA more specifically, longitudinal research studies using Asian adolescent samples have resulted in contradictory findings, with some supporting and others not confirming hostility as a causal factor for IA (Ko et al., 2009, Hong et al., 2014). Nevertheless, there is a consensus among longitudinal studies considering the reverse association in adolescence, where hostility was a consequence of IA rather than a cause (Gentile et al., 2011, Lemmens et al., 2011). Researchers explain the Hostility–IA association as bidirectional (Yen et al., 2008). That is, hostility may engender Internet escape–avoidance and withdrawal as a way of coping with emotional stress. Furthermore, the absence of limitations on Internet use may provide an outlet for more hostile adolescents, enabling them to express their aggression in ways not acceptable offline (Ko et al., 2009). As an ineffective form of coping, IA could result in poor adjustment in early adulthood, precipitating hostility (Yen et al., 2008). Nevertheless, developmental maturation between the ages of 16 and 18 years might allow adolescents to develop more advanced coping strategies, such as interpersonal and problem solving skills (Williams & McGillicuddy-De Lisi, 1999) to deal with hostility symptoms rather than using the Internet. These developmental changes combined with the dearth of relevant prospective studies in European populations and the controversial findings in Asian samples indicate a significant gap in the literature.

Various online activities have been associated with IA, including social networking, video gaming, and gambling (Kuss et al., 2014, Griffiths et al., 2014). Among these, online gaming has received significant attention with the latest (fifth) edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) advocating Internet Gaming Disorder as a condition in need of further study (American Psychiatric Association, 2013), and research has placed particular emphasis upon the playing of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) (Wallace, 2014). MMORPGs are online games in which individuals can develop a character, compete, and interact with other players without time and space limitations (Kuss, Louws, & Wiers, 2012). While MMORPGs have been consistently associated with IA (Kuss and Griffiths, 2012, Gentile et al., 2011), their likely positive effects in the areas of social interactions and facilitating educational learning have also been noted (Cole and Griffiths, 2007, De Freitas and Griffiths, 2011, Skoric and Kwan, 2011, Jones et al., 2014). Continuously increasing challenges, scoring, and immediate gratification in MMORPGs enable players to achieve a sense of self-actualization (Wan & Chiou, 2006), and this has been linked to IA (Hull, Williams, & Griffiths, 2013).

MMORPGs also function as a catalyst for social contact and can supplement face-to-face relationships, potentially leading to various beneficial effects of gaming (Jones et al., 2014). Therefore, for an adolescent gamer who plays MMORPGs with their real-life friends, socialization would be higher compared to an isolated gamer, possibly decreasing IA risk. Given the importance of classroom context for the development of adolescents, and Greek adolescents in particular (because their classmates remain the same throughout their school education), and their Internet use behaviors (Ryan and Patrick, 2001, Festl et al., 2013, Stavropoulos et al., 2015a), assessing the influence of peer involvement in MMORPGs in relation to IA severity appears important. Given the lack of relevant findings, the present study utilized the nesting of adolescent data within classrooms. In that context, the classroom percentage of MMORPG players was calculated in line with applied methods of assessing classroom composition effects (Motti-Stefanidi, Asendorpf, & Masten, 2012).

The present study is a part of a wider longitudinal research project at the University of Athens (Greece) that aims to highlight the significance of the interplay over time of individual and contextual factors in relation to IA symptoms.¹ Specifically, multilevel modeling was applied to longitudinally examine hostility and MMORPG-playing as individual factors and the percentage of classroom participation in MMORPGs as a proximal context factor. A normative sample of Greek adolescents and their classroom peers were assessed in relation to their IA symptoms at both 16 and 18 years (i.e., longitudinally over a two-year period). The following hypotheses were formulated:

H1

It is hypothesized that higher hostility will be associated with higher IA symptom severity. This is because more hostile adolescents may overuse the Internet to cope with their emotional distress and/or behave in a hostile way avoiding repercussions in real life (Kuss et al., 2014, Ko et al., 2009).

H2

It is hypothesized that based on the constantly evolving and interactive structure of MMORPGs, MMORPG-playing will be associated with higher IA symptom severity (Kuss and Griffiths, 2012, Gentile et al., 2011).

H3

Given the socializing effects of MMORPGs, it is hypothesized that classrooms with higher percentages of gamers will be associated with decreased IA symptom severity (Jones et al., 2014).