Factors associated with videogame abuse among adolescent women.

Abstract

Playing video games can become a problem behavior. The factors associated with this transition have been widely studied in males, while among females it is a field that has not yet been sufficiently addressed. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of problematic video game use in adolescent females and the associated risk factors. Specifically, to analyze the predictive potential of videogaming habits, psychopathological symptomatology and maladaptive gaming cognitions. A sample of 536 females (12-17 years old) (M= 13.91; SD= 1.57) was obtained by stratified random sampling from educational centers in the Community of Madrid, to whom the Gamertest, an online expert system to assess problematic video game use, was administered. 2.8% of the adolescent girls had a problematic video game use, and only 0.7% had an Internet Gaming Disorder. The main predictive variables identified were: cognitions related to compulsion and preoccupation, average number of gaming days per week and anxious symptomatology. The results obtained are in addition to the few studies carried out in women and highlight the need to pay special attention to the maladaptive gaming cognitions in the prevention and treatment of these problems.