The impact of COVID-19 and socio-psychological determinants on Chinese Internet game players: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the total number of hours and total amount of money spent by Chinese game players on pay-to-play online games has increased dramatically. The current study's goal is to investigate the demographic characteristics, internet game playing patterns, and socio-psychological situations of 410 young people aged 15 to 40 in Hong Kong. From March to June 2020, a cross-sectional study was conducted using purposive sampling on pay-to-play internet game players. A 9-item Internet Gaming Scale (IGD) and a Socio-psychological Determinants Checklist-15 are among the measurement instruments used. To investigate the correlations between demographic data, socio-psychological variables, and internet gaming disorder displacement, chi-square, crosstab, and logistic regression analyses were used. The prevalence rate of internet gaming disorder was 74.4% (n=305) among the 410 respondents, with a mean age of 26.8 years old (SD=6.7). Approximately 29% of respondents spent more than 5 hours per day and 20% spent more than HKD1,000 per month on internet games. Meanwhile, 86.3% of respondents played internet games on their mobile phones. According to bivariate analysis, internet gaming disorder was associated with gender, gaming hours, education, salary, money spent on internet games, and socio-psychosocial factors. In a logistic regression model, internet gaming disorder was correlated with daily gaming hours. The findings suggested the prevalence of internet gaming disorder among internet game players in Hong Kong. In view of the high percentage in internet gaming disorder, should we reconsider the inclusion and exclusion of criteria for IGD. In addition, preventive measures should be developed to help individuals with the socio-psychological determinants. Internet gaming disorder was found to be related to daily gaming hours in a logistic regression model. The findings indicated a high prevalence of internet gaming disorder among Hong Kong internet game players. Given the high prevalence of internet gaming disorder, should we reconsider the inclusion and exclusion of IGD criteria? Furthermore, preventive measures to assist individuals with the socio-psychological determinants should be developed.