Online game addiction among adolescents: motivation and prevention factors

Abstract

Online game addiction has become a common phenomenon that affects many individuals and societies. In this study we rely on the functionalist perspective of human behavior and propose and test a balanced model of the antecedents of online game addiction among adolescents, which simultaneously focuses on motivating, and prevention and harm reduction forces. First, a sample of 163 adolescents was used for validating and refining a survey instrument. Second, survey data collected from 623 adolescents were analyzed with Partial Least Squares techniques. The findings point to several functional needs (e.g., need for relationship and need for escapism) that drive online game playing and addiction, ..