Inter-relationship between gaming addiction, emotional intelligence, and psychological well-being of playerunknown's battlegrounds and non-playerunknown's battlegrounds online mobile game players: A comparative cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: Recently, increasing trend in popularity of online gaming has been seen worldwide. Online games such as PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) and first-person shooter (FPS) games top the popularity chart among young population. Problematic Internet gaming is also being increasingly reported. The aim of this study was to evaluate the inter-relationship between gaming addiction, emotional intelligence (EI), and psychological well-being in players of PUBG and non-PUBG online shooter mobile games. Materials and Methods: Sixty-four male students (18–22 years) who had played either PUBG or non-PUBG FPS games for ≥3 h/week during the previous 6 months were included. Addictive potential of PUBG (played by n = 33) was compared with that of non-PUBG games (played by n = 31) using Gaming Addiction Scale (GAS). Psychological health and EI were assessed using Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale 21 (DASS-21) and Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form, respectively. Results: The prevalence of gaming addiction and psychological morbidity was significantly higher in PUBG compared to non-PUBG players. EI was comparable in both the groups. Correlational analysis in PUBG players showed a positive association between GAS and anxiety subscale and a negative association between EI and the depression and anxiety subscales. In non-PUBG players, a positive association between GAS and depression subscale and a negative association between EI and the depression, stress, and total DASS-21 scores was observed. Conclusion: These results suggest that addictive online gaming behavior has detrimental effect on the psychological well-being of players. Furthermore, EI has a potential protective impact against psychological morbidity in these subjects. Future studies may be planned to explore the influence of interventional EI training on psychological health and addictive gaming behavior of online gamers.