ACTIVE VIDEO GAMING AND SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS AMONG ADOLESCENTS: A MEDIATION ANALYSIS OF EMOTIONAL REGULATION

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the relationship between active video gaming, emotion regulation and social connectedness among adolescents. Also, the predictive effect of active video gaming on social connectedness and emotion regulation and the mediating effect of emotion regulation in the relationship between active video gaming and social connectedness were explored. For this purpose, a purposive sample of 385 adolescents was selected. Three research tools, including Game Addiction Scale for Adolescents (GASA; Lemmens et al., 2009), Social Connectedness Scale-Revised (SCS-R; Lee et al., 2001), and Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ; Gross & John, 2003) were used. Results showed that there was a negative correlation between problematic video gaming and social connectedness and cognitive reappraisal but a positive correlation between problematic video gaming and expressive suppression. Social connectedness was positively correlated with cognitive reappraisal but negatively correlated with expressive suppression. Active video gaming significantly predicted social connectedness and cognitive reappraisal negatively but predicted expressive suppression positively. Additionally, cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression partially mediated the relationship between active video gaming and social connectedness. The school-based counseling and psychoeducation can assist adolescents in controlling their gaming behavior and regulating their emotions. The study is significant for educational, social and counseling psychology.