Problematic gaming risk among European adolescents: A cross-national evaluation of individual and socio-economic factors
Abstract
Previous research has identified numerous risk and protective factors of adolescent problematic gaming (PG) at the individual and social levels, however the influence of socio-economic indicators on PG is less known. This study aimed to examine the contribution of individual and socio-economic factors involved in PG risk among adolescents from 30 European countries.
Design: The study used data from the 2019 European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) cross-sectional study using self-administered anonymous questionnaires.
Setting: A survey conducted across 30 European countries.
Participants: A representative cohort of 15- to 16-year-old students (n = 88 998 students; M =49,2%).
Measurements: The primary outcome measure was adolescents’ (low and high) risk of PG. Individual key predictors included self-report assessments of socio-demographic characteristics, time spent gaming and family variables (parental regulation and monitoring, family support). Main country-level predictors comprised Gini coefficient for economic inequalities (and benefits for families and children (% GDP), retrieved from international public datasets and national thematic reports. The data analysis plan involved multi‐level logistic regression.
Participants who reported stronger parental regulation [odds ratio (OR) = 0.81, 95% confidence interval (CI) = (0.79-0.83)] and higher family support [OR = 0.93, 95% CI = (0.91-0.95)] reported lower risk of PG. At the country-level, economic inequalities [OR = 1.05, 95% CI = (1.03-1.07)] were positively associated with the risk of PG, while benefits for families and children [OR = 0.79, 95% CI = (0.70-0.89)] were negatively correlated with the risk of PG. Supportive family environments, lower country-level economic inequalities and higher government expenditures on benefits for families and children appear to be associated with a lower risk of problematic gaming among European adolescents
