The Biopsychosocial Factors That Impact eSports Players’ Well-Being: A Systematic Review

Abstract The purpose of this article is to review the known biopsychosocial risks of participation in eSports. The authors used The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to systematically review the existing literature on risks to well-being for amateur and professional eSports players. Risks are conceptualized and categorized with the biopsychosocial model. Our literature review surfaced several biopsychosocial risk factors associated with eSports. Some of these risks included poor nutrition, caffeine supplementation, physiological arousal, injury, pain, stress, maladaptive coping, cognitive fatigue, gaming addiction, mental ill-health, harassment, and racism. We found little support for eSports players being at risk due to sedentary behavior or an increased body mass index. These results are expected to inform support staff members and industry professionals.