Treffer: Gaming for Self-Searching? A Three-Wave Longitudinal Investigation on the Correlations and Predictions Among Self-Concept Clarity, Player-Avatar Identification, and Internet Gaming Disorder.
Title:
Gaming for Self-Searching? A Three-Wave Longitudinal Investigation on the Correlations and Predictions Among Self-Concept Clarity, Player-Avatar Identification, and Internet Gaming Disorder.
Authors:
Dang L; Faculty of Teacher Education, Pingdingshan University, Pingdingshan, China.; Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau, Macao, China., Zhai J; Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau, Macao, China.; Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Institute of Collaborative Innovation, University of Macau, Macao, China., Kam CCS; Faculty of Education, University of Macau, Macao, China., Su X; School of Nursing, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China., Wu AMS; Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau, Macao, China. anisewu@um.edu.mo.; Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Institute of Collaborative Innovation, University of Macau, Macao, China. anisewu@um.edu.mo.
Source:
Journal of youth and adolescence [J Youth Adolesc] 2026 Jan; Vol. 55 (1), pp. 14-26. Date of Electronic Publication: 2025 Sep 17.
Publication Type:
Journal Article
Language:
English
Journal Info:
Publisher: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 0333507 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1573-6601 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00472891 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Youth Adolesc Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s):
Publication: 1999- : New York, NY : Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers
Original Publication: New York, Plenum Press.
Original Publication: New York, Plenum Press.
MeSH Terms:
References:
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Beard, C. L., & Wickham, R. E. (2016). Gaming-contingent self-worth, gaming motivation, and Internet gaming disorder. Computers in Human Behavior, 61, 507–515. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.03.046 . (PMID: 10.1016/j.chb.2016.03.046)
Brand, M., Wegmann, E., Stark, R., Müller, A., Wölfling, K., Robbins, T. W., & Potenza, M. N. (2019). The Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model for addictive behaviors: Update, generalization to addictive behaviors beyond internet-use disorders, and specification of the process character of addictive behaviors. Neuroscience Biobehavioral Reviews, 104, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.06.032 . (PMID: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.06.03231247240)
Brand, M., Young, K. S., Laier, C., Wölfling, K., & Potenza, M. N. (2016). Integrating psychological and neurobiological considerations regarding the development and maintenance of specific Internet-use disorders: An Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model. Neuroscience Biobehavioral Reviews, 71(71), 252–266. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.08.033 . (PMID: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.08.03327590829)
Brandtner, A., Antons, S., Cornil, A., & Brand, M. (2021). Integrating desire thinking into the I-PACE model: A special focus on Internet-use disorders. Current Addiction Reports, 8(4), 459–468. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-021-00400-9 . (PMID: 10.1007/s40429-021-00400-9)
Brislin, R. W. (1970). Back-translation for cross-cultural research. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 1(3), 185–216. https://doi.org/10.1177/135910457000100301 . (PMID: 10.1177/135910457000100301)
Campbell, J. D. (1990). Self-esteem and clarity of the self-concept. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59(3), 538–549. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.59.3.538 . (PMID: 10.1037/0022-3514.59.3.5382231284)
Campbell, J. D., & Lavallee, L. F. (1993). Who am I? The role of self concept confusion in understanding the behavior of people with low self esteem. In R. F. Baumeister (Ed.), Self esteem: The puzzle of low self regard (pp. 3–20). Springer US. https://doi.org/10.1007/9781468489569_1.
Campbell, J. D., Trapnell, P. D., Heine, S. J., Katz, I. M., Lavallee, L. F., & Lehman, D. R. (1996). Self-concept clarity: Measurement, personality correlates, and cultural boundaries. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(1), 141–156. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.70.1.141 . (PMID: 10.1037/0022-3514.70.1.141)
Cicero, D. C. (2018). Self-concept clarity and psychopathology. In Self-concept clarity: Perspectives on assessment, research, and applications (pp. 219–242). Springer International Publishing.
Cohen, J. (2013). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203771587 .
Cole, H., & Griffiths, M. D. (2007). Social interactions in massively multiplayer online role-playing gamers. Cyberpsychology behavior, 10(4), 575–583. https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2007.9988 . (PMID: 10.1089/cpb.2007.998817711367)
Collins, E., Freeman, J., & Chamarro-Premuzic, T. (2012). Personality traits associated with problematic and non-problematic massively multiplayer online role playing game use. Personality and Individual Differences, 52(2), 133–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2011.09.015 . (PMID: 10.1016/j.paid.2011.09.015)
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Contributed Indexing:
Keywords: Internet gaming disorder symptoms; Longitudinal investigation; Player-avatar identification; Role-playing games; Self-concept clarity
Entry Date(s):
Date Created: 20250917 Date Completed: 20260119 Latest Revision: 20260119
Update Code:
20260119
DOI:
10.1007/s10964-025-02258-w
PMID:
40960706
Database:
MEDLINE
Weitere Informationen
Existing research on the associations among self-concept clarity, player-avatar identification, and Internet gaming disorder has largely relied on cross-sectional designs, and the findings were inconsistent. This three-wave longitudinal study examined whether self-concept clarity and player-avatar identification jointly and reciprocally relate to Internet gaming disorder symptoms among emerging adults using both general and random-intercept cross-lagged panel model. Participants were 877 role-playing gamers (M <subscript>age</subscript> = 19.81, SD <subscript>age</subscript> = 1.33; 54.80% female) with a baseline and two follow-up surveys (at six and twelve months). Results of both general and random-intercept cross-lagged panel models indicated that, contrary to the hypotheses, self-concept clarity did not predict Internet gaming disorder symptoms nor vice versa, and neither self-concept clarity nor player-avatar identification showed significant indirect effects on Internet gaming disorder symptoms. Although player-avatar identification maintained a positive association with Internet gaming disorder symptoms at the between-person level, it showed no prospective effects at the within-person level. The present study did not provide empirical support for any hypothesized prospective mechanisms among the measured variables. Still, its findings suggest that domain-specific cognitive factors, such as player-avatar identification, may be informative for monitoring Internet gaming disorder risk and highlight the need to support self-concept development during emerging adulthood.
(© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)
Compliance with Ethical Standards. Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no competing interests Ethical Approval: All procedures conducted in this study were approved by the research ethics committee of the affiliated department at the university of the corresponding author and complied with its ethical standards. Informed Consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants.