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Abstract

This dissertation explored the impact of videogame addiction on adolescent behaviour. Videogame addiction is considered to be a relatively new behavioural addiction, meaning there is limited research into how it can impact young people’s behaviour. The research is applicable to today because technology in general has become more common and widely accepted in all aspects of life and culture. In particular, technology such as videogames are incredibly accessible, especially to the younger generation, and has become imbedded into the societal norm. Moreover, the technology era has completely changed how people interact, socialise, and behave, and has influenced a surge in the recognition of associated mental health and wellbeing problems. Reaching an understanding of the causes of videogame addiction, the positive and negative outcomes of it and the effectiveness of videogame addiction treatment strategies were vital to establishing how adolescents’ behaviour can be impacted. A literature review was used to determine the behavioural impacts of videogame addiction, with the use of previous empirical research to develop this understanding. The dissertation concluded motivations for gameplay are influenced by the brain and design of videogames and were the most significant predictors for problematic game behaviour. Moreover, much of the research in the field has a tendency to focus on the negative behavioural outcomes, however it was found that videogames can also produce positive impacts on behaviour. There are some treatment strategies which have the basis for being effective in supporting young people with videogame addiction, however, there remains little evidence-based research in how effective they are long-term. Additionally, adolescents’ behaviour was impacted by videogame addiction in a number of ways however the research was limited due the small number of theorists and long-term treatments in the subject area. Lastly the majority of behavioural impacts on adolescents had negative connotations, posing further suggestions for more research to be done on positive outcomes.

Course: Civil Engineering - BEng (Hons) - C0177

Date Deposited: 2022-04-08

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis13889.html