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Investigation of the relationship between social isolation, self‐esteem, aggression and computer game play in Japanese adolescents
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2003
Year
Social IsolationOnline GamingSocial PsychologyPeer RelationshipSocial ValuePsychologySocial SciencesDevelopmental PsychologyComputer Game PlaySelf-esteemBehavioral SciencesOnline GamesSocial SkillsGame StudiesLocal Game CultureVideo Game AddictionGame StudyApplied Social PsychologySocial CognitionJapanese AdolescentsExpressed ConcernSocial BehaviorVideo Game StudiesInterpersonal RelationshipsArtsUk AdolescentsAggressionGame PlayPlayer Experience
The study examined whether findings from a UK adolescent sample generalize to Japanese adolescents. The authors used principal components analysis on a game‑play needs scale, yielding two factors: companionship and preference for friends. Japanese adolescents displayed similar play patterns to UK peers, but unlike the UK, number of friends, self‑esteem, and companionship needs did not predict play; instead, a preference for friends predicted play, and while play correlated with aggression, choosing aggressive games was linked to lower aggression scores, challenging a causal link.
Some support for expressed concern over the negative consequences of computer game play was obtained by Colwell and Payne (2000) in a questionnaire survey of UK adolescents. A second study was carried out in Tokyo, Japan, to test for generality of findings. There was strong evidence of similarity in relation to play patterns, but in contrast to the UK sample, number of good friends and self‐esteem did not relate to game play. A principal components analysis of a scale to measure needs met by game play resulted in the same two previously obtained factors; ‘companionship’ and ‘prefer to friends’. However, in contrast to the UK sample, ‘companionship’ did not relate to play. A positive relation between the ‘prefer to friends’ factor and play was obtained for both boys and girls (boys only in the UK), thus providing support for the ‘electronic friendship’ hypothesis. There was evidence of a positive relation between play and aggression, but a preference for aggressive games was associated with lower aggression scores, and this raises questions for the ‘causal hypothesis’.