TY - JOUR
T1 - Disentangling the effects of empathy components on Internet gaming disorder
T2 - A study of vulnerable youth in China
AU - Hui, Bryant P.H.
AU - Wu, Anise M.S.
AU - Pun, Ngai
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors like to thank Gao Hang, Hou Liqi, Lin Lin, Song Xinmiao, Vladislav Xu, and Li De Pin for their support with data collection. They would like to show their deep appreciation to the numerous school administrators, teachers, and pupils for participating in this project, especially those from Anqing Vocational & Technical College, E-Business Logistics and High Speed Train Attendant Department, Inner Mongolia Linhe Number 1 Vocational School, Hang Jin Hou Qi Vocational Training Center, Inner Mongolia, Inner Mongolia Huancheng Vocational Technical School, Lanzhou Modern Vocational College, Shaanxi Institute of Technology, and Xiaogan Vocational School, Hubei Province.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 The Author(s)
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Background and aims: Previous research shows that empathy can be one of the potential protective factors for Internet gaming disorder (IGD), yet the complex relationships between multidimensional factors of empathy and IGD remain understudied. Thus, a major question moving forward is to resolve the mixed empirical data by examining the specific contributions of empathy components. In this study, we disentangle the effects of cognitive component (i.e., perspective taking) and affective component (i.e., empathic concern and personal distress) on IGD symptoms and propose affect-oriented mediation pathways between them. Methods: We surveyed a large sample (N = 3,348) of Chinese vocational school students, one of the most vulnerable groups to online gaming addiction. Results: Our structural equation modeling results revealed that only personal distress, but not empathic concern or perspective taking, positively predicted IGD symptoms. However, empathic concern and personal distress were negatively and positively predicted gaming motive of escape from reality, respectively, which in turn predicted IGD symptoms. Furthermore, we found an indirect effect of perspective taking on IGD through empathic concern and then gaming motive of escape from reality. Discussion and conclusion: The findings underscore the importance of separating the affective and cognitive components to understand the complex relationships between the empathy and IGD, and support our theorizing of the affect-oriented mediation mechanism.
AB - Background and aims: Previous research shows that empathy can be one of the potential protective factors for Internet gaming disorder (IGD), yet the complex relationships between multidimensional factors of empathy and IGD remain understudied. Thus, a major question moving forward is to resolve the mixed empirical data by examining the specific contributions of empathy components. In this study, we disentangle the effects of cognitive component (i.e., perspective taking) and affective component (i.e., empathic concern and personal distress) on IGD symptoms and propose affect-oriented mediation pathways between them. Methods: We surveyed a large sample (N = 3,348) of Chinese vocational school students, one of the most vulnerable groups to online gaming addiction. Results: Our structural equation modeling results revealed that only personal distress, but not empathic concern or perspective taking, positively predicted IGD symptoms. However, empathic concern and personal distress were negatively and positively predicted gaming motive of escape from reality, respectively, which in turn predicted IGD symptoms. Furthermore, we found an indirect effect of perspective taking on IGD through empathic concern and then gaming motive of escape from reality. Discussion and conclusion: The findings underscore the importance of separating the affective and cognitive components to understand the complex relationships between the empathy and IGD, and support our theorizing of the affect-oriented mediation mechanism.
KW - Empathy
KW - Escape from reality
KW - Gaming addiction
KW - IGD
KW - Youth
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85064331216&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1556/2006.8.2019.12
DO - 10.1556/2006.8.2019.12
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 30920294
AN - SCOPUS:85064331216
SN - 2062-5871
VL - 8
SP - 181
EP - 189
JO - Journal of Behavioral Addictions
JF - Journal of Behavioral Addictions
IS - 1
ER -
