Developmental Links Between Gaming and Depressive Symptoms

Jakub Mikuška, Alexander T. Vazsonyi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

The current longitudinal study tested the reciprocal relationships between video game play and depressive symptoms among 9,421 adolescents from the Add Health (Mage = 16.15 years, SD = 1.64, 55% female), over 11 years (Waves 2, 3, and 4), ages 16 to 27. Based on structural equation modeling as well as latent growth models, findings indicated that (1) excessive gaming was largely transient over time, from adolescence to early adulthood; (2) excessive gaming predicted increases in depressive symptoms; and (3) in turn, depressive symptoms predicted decreases in gaming over time. Multigroup model tests by sex provided additional evidence that longitudinal relationships from excessive gaming to depressive symptoms were supported for male, but not for female youth.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)680-697
Number of pages18
JournalJournal of Research on Adolescence
Volume28
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2018

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Society for Research on Adolescence

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cultural Studies
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
  • Behavioral Neuroscience

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