Online Gaming, Internet Addiction, and Aggression in Chinese Male Students: The Mediating Role of Low Self-Control

Abstract

Even though the General Aggression Model suggests that personality and situational variables can influenceaggression, it is not clear if the model can be applied to Eastern cultures. The present study examined themediating role of low self-control in the relationships between violent online gaming, Internet addiction, andaggression. We conducted a cross-sectional study using online self-report questionnaires to assess violent onlinegame exposure, Internet addiction, low self-control, and aggression in 211 Chinese male students. We found thatthe majority of the 10 most popular games reported by the participants were violent. There were positivecorrelations between violent online game exposure, Internet addiction, low self-control, and aggression.Aggression was not only directly predicted by violent online game exposure and Internet addiction, but alsomediated by low self-control. These findings support the development of educational programs and measures tocultivate self-control in college students and reduce aggression engendered by playing violent online games.Aggression and self-control, which is conducive to educational interventions, are related. The implications andlimitations of this study are discussed.