The role of computer game playing and reading attitudes in digital reading achievement: evidence from Hong Kong 15-year-olds

The present study aimed to examine the associations among digital reading achievement, computer game playing, and reading attitudes using the Hong Kong data taken from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 dataset. Both confirmatory factor analysis and structural equal modeling were adopted: 1) to identify the correlation among the three latent factors (i.e., digital reading achievement, computer game playing, and reading attitudes), 2) to measure the mediating effects of reading attitudes, and 3) to investigate the mediation relationship after controlling for gender difference. The results confirmed the importance of computer game playing and reading attitudes towards digital reading achievement. Specifically, computer game playing negatively correlated with digital reading achievement and reading attitudes, whereas reading attitudes positively correlated with computer-mediated reading performance even after gender was controlled. Interestingly, reading attitudes were found to mediate the magnitude of the impact of computer game playing on digital reading achievement. Taken together, the findings suggest: 1) excessive time spent in playing computer games results in poor performance in digitally assessed reading, 2) positive reading attitudes attenuate the negative effects of playing computer games against digital reading achievement, 3) such offsetting effect is even larger when controlling for gender.