A dependência em jogos eletrônicos e o autocontrole

Abstract

Video games are a kind of entertainment consumed in a constant and massive way nowadays. Although there are benefits arising from the practice, there is, in a few cases, video game addiction, which is characterized by excessive and/or compulsive use of video games with negative interference in everyday life. In 2013, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - 5th Edition (DSM-5) included Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) in its list of conditions for further study. In 2018, the Eleventh International Classification of Diseases - ICD-11 inserted a condition called Gaming Disorder (GD) into the list of conditions, aiming to frame addiction to video games. The present study aimed to investigate the level of addiction in adult Brazilian players who have been playing for at least one year, in addition to looking for factors associated with this addiction. 151 adult individuals aged between 18 and 70 years old (M = 24.3 and SD = 7.5) participated in this research, who reported starting age of playing video games from 3 to 25 years old (M = 8.9 and SD = 4.1). Each interviewee answered a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Escala Breve de Autocontrole (BSCS) - Brief Self-Control Scale (BSCS), but translated and adapted for Brazil and the Escala de DEPENDÊNCIA EM JOGOS Eletrônicos (ESDEJE) - Game Addiction Scale (GAS), but translated and adapted for Brazil. Pearson's correlation coefficient test showed an association between ESDEJE and BSCS scores. With a linear correlation test, it was also verified that the BSCS score is associated with the participants' score level in the ESDEJE internal factors. An independent t-test identified that there is no significant difference between men and women in the sample regarding the ESDEJE score. Simple linear regression analysis demonstrated that the BSCS score works as a predictor of the ESDEJE score. Through a binary logistic regression analysis, it was found that the BSCS score is a predictor of the hypothetical diagnosis of GD. It is concluded that low self-control is consistently a predictor of symptoms of addiction to video games. The relevance of these findings is due to the usefulness of the process of understanding what is the association, in Brazilian players, with addiction to video games, which can promote contributions to clinical practice and future research.