Depression, Internet Gaming Disorder, and the Moderating Effect of the Gamer-Avatar Relationship: an Exploratory Longitudinal Study

Research into Internet gaming disorder (IGD) literature largely uses cross-sectional designs and seldom examines gaming context-related factors. Therefore, the present study combined a cross-sectional and longitudinal design to examine depression and the gamer-avatar relationship (GAR) as risk factors in the development of IGD among emerging adults. IGD behaviors of 125 gamers (64 online gamers, Mage = 23.3 years, SD = 3.4; 61 offline gamers, Mage = 23.0 years, SD = 3.4) were assessed using the nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale Short Form (IGDS-SF9; Pontes and Griffiths Revista Argentina de Ciencias del Comportamiento, 7, 102–118, 2015a; Computers in Human Behavior, 45, 137–143, 2015b). The Self-Presence Scale (Ratan and Dawson Communication Research, 2015) and the Beck Depression Inventory (Beck et al. 1996) were also used to assess gamers’ levels of GAR and depressive symptoms, respectively. Regression and moderation analyses revealed that depression and the GAR act as individual risk factors in the development of IGD over time. Furthermore, the GAR exacerbates the IGD risk effect of depression.