Psychological Predictors of Different Types of Involvement in Computer Games in Early Adulthood

Abstract

Relevance. Due to the digital transformation of society, in modern psychology arises the question of what impact this transformation has on people, in particular, how computer-game involvement manifests itself and what causes it. Purpose. This paper aims to investigate the psychological predictors of various types of involvement in computer games. Method and sampling. 124 computer game players aged 18 to 30 (M = 25,08), including 64 women and 60 men participated in the study. 6 types of computer game involvement: «Addiction», «Sense of community», «Emotional support», «Immersion», «Flow» and «Identification», obtained as a result of the development of the author’s questionnaire, were analyzed. Results and conclusions. Personality traits along with crisis experience and stressors in various proportions act as predictors of each type of computer-gaming involvement. Types «Addiction», «Immersion» and «Flow» are more accounted for by personality traits, «Sense of community» — by personality traits and crisis experiences, «Identification» — by stress-suffering, and «Emotional support» is caused by a negative image of the surrounding reality.