Internet Gaming Disorder of Gamers: A Study on Values and Online Gaming Behavior ^†

Abstract

This research aims to explore the effect of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and online gaming behaviors related to IGD. The explored behaviors were based on games with microtransactions. Using a revised portrait value questionnaire (PVQ-RR), 186 respondents from 18 to 52 years old were asked about gaming behaviors. Online gaming behaviors such as the duration of online gaming and the payment for online games had a reciprocal relationship with IGD. Stimulation, achievement, hedonism, power through dominance, and personal security were correlated with playing paid online games. It is necessary to consider the fact that the values of the games are related to online gaming behaviors. Positive online gaming behaviors need to be developed.

1. Introduction

An event in a game usually lasts 10 hours. Several players prioritize gaming over other tasks. They can achieve the goal of the game with high engagement but need to consider the consequences of other ignored activities. Many gamers have negative consequences in their lives due to their gaming behaviors. Gaming has become an acceptable activity and has been enjoyed by many people. In 2022, 77.25% of the Indonesian population reported that the Internet was important for accessing entertainment, and 14.23% frequently played online games [1]. There are 40 million frequent gamers in Indonesia, and many of them are addicted to games [2]. Instead of simply restricting their gaming activities to prevent gaming addiction, it is necessary to understand their behaviors for gamers to recover healthier gaming behaviors [3].

Gaming behaviors vary depending on the genres of games. Several games encourage social interaction, while others are played alone. Some gamers play casually, while others spend long hours playing. Sometimes, gamers sacrifice their work or their sleep. Some gamers never spend any amount of real money on games, while others do, and several gamers cannot control their spending and have financial trouble. Recognizing the harm from excessive or uncontrolled participation in online gaming, the American Psychiatric Association included Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) in a condition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). One study in Indonesia found that 2.03% of the respondents experienced IGD [4]. When online gaming has negatively impacted their life, IGD is diagnosed. The most relevant criteria in the diagnosis of IGD are to give up other activities, prioritize gaming to result in negative consequences, and continue to play despite knowing the problems [5].

Players playing games excessively often do not have IGD. Gaming is increasingly accepted with the rising number of gamers. Gaming affects the economy [6], both positively and negatively. One possible explanation for human behaviors is the values that individuals hold. Values motivate online gaming behaviors. Among the three clusters of gaming motivation [7], there are no negative motivations that lead gamers to IGD. Researchers have found empirical evidence that prevents gamers from being addicted. Thus, it is important to understand internal psychological factors to predict how gamers keep playing online games without addiction. Therefore, we assumed that the values that gamers hold are used to predict IGD and explored why gamers do not experience IGD even though they often play games.

2. IGD on Values and Online Gaming Behavior

2.1. IGD

IGD has been included as a condition for further study in the DSM-5. IGD is diagnosed when gaming negatively impacts normal life. To be diagnosed, someone must fulfill at least five of the following criteria [5]: (a) preoccupation with online gaming; (b) withdrawal symptoms when unable to play; (c) the need to increase the time spent playing; (d) unsuccessful attempts to control one’s gaming; (e) loss of interest in other hobbies as a result of, and except for, gaming; (f) continued gaming despite knowledge of psychosocial problems; (g) deceiving others regarding the amount of gaming; (h) use of online gaming to escape negative moods; and (i) has jeopardized or lost relationship, job, or school/career opportunities because of gaming.

Several factors contributing to IGD have been identified, including impulsivity, dispositional self-control, anxiety, drive to pursue desired goals, amount of money spent on games, duration of weekday gaming, offline game community attendance, and membership in a game community. These are related significantly to IGD [8]. Among motivations for playing [7], achievement is correlated with IGD stronger than other motivations; however, the strongest correlation is escapism, a subcomponent of immersion motivation [9].

A cognitive–behavioral model explains IGD by including the motivating component of gaming (reward and reducing stress), behavioral executive control, and the weighing of rewards and consequences in decision-making [10]. Four groups of cognitions in IGD were determined in Ref. [11] as follows: (a) belief in the value of game rewards, (b) maladaptive and unflexible gaming rules, (c) dependence on gaming for self-esteem, and (d) gaming for obtaining social acceptance. Gamers’ metacognitions about gaming may push them to keep playing by making them believe that gaming can reduce negative effects and that it is hard to stop gaming once they start [12,13].

2.2. Values

Value is considered important by an individual. A theory of basic values was developed to describe the basic values that can be recognized by people in all cultures and to find out whether those values are structured to explain the relationship between them [14]. Schwartz identified 10 such basic values and defined values as “desirable, trans-situational goals, varying in importance, that serve as guiding principles in people’s lives” [15]. In the refined theory of basic individual values, Schwartz identified 19 different basic values based on the original 10 values [16]. These basic values are structured on a circular motivation continuum [16,17]. Neighboring values have similar motivational content (e.g., both tradition and conformity to the rules are compatible and can be pursued in the same behavior), while values opposing each other usually have conflicting motivations (e.g., interpersonal conformity can conflict with autonomy to choose one’s action). This motivational circle can be understood by the four higher-order values [16], which explain the common goal or essence across several adjacent values. These values change and self-enhance with conservation and self-transcendence. Overall, 19 values, except hedonism, face, and humility, fall into one of the four higher-order values. Hedonism falls between openness to change and self-enhancement, while the face is between self-enhancement and conservation, and humility is between conservation and self-transcendence [16]. The 19 values are understood from another set of concepts that characterize the values, namely growth in anxiety-free conditions or self-protection with anxiety avoidance, and a personal or a social focus [16]. All values help to at least correspond to one of the three requirements for human existence, which are individuals’ biological needs, coordinated social interaction, a group’s survival, and well-being [18]. In other words, none of the values are “bad” since all of them are needed for human survival and well-being. This is also why all the values are recognized across cultures.

For the present research, we chose 11 values relevant to the behaviors of online gamers or the features of online games that motivate gamers to keep playing. These values were self-direction (thought), self-direction (action), stimulation, hedonism, achievement, power–dominance, power (resources), face, security (personal), conformity (rules), and conformity (interpersonal).

2.3. Online Gaming Behaviors

It is important to analyze the online gaming behaviors of gamers, and the result is used to support the assumption that values motivate online gaming behaviors [19]. Online gaming behaviors considered in this research included average online gaming duration in a day, pay-to-play gaming, and using real money in online gaming to buy items for in-game advantage(s) [6,13,20]. These considerations were made based on the observation that online games with microtransactions are popular, and people are motivated by the economic value of games [21].

3. Materials and Method

In total, 190 gamers were invited for the questionnaire survey of this research. The respondents were 18 years and older and had played online games for the last three months at the time of the questionnaires. The games played had at least one of the following features: in-game currency, inventory or collection, and leaderboard. We assumed that those features motivated players to keep playing games. However, one respondent did not give consent to participate, two were under 18 years old, and one did not respond to the instructions. Thus, 186 respondents (33.33% females), aged between 18 and 52 years old (M = 22.93, SD = 5.33) in various areas of Indonesia, participated in the survey. Most respondents were students or undergraduate students (70.43%), which was relevant to the Asosiasi Penyelenggara Jasa Internet Indonesia (APJII) survey in 2022, which showed that the rate of Internet penetration in Indonesia was the highest among students and undergraduate students [1].

3.1. Instruments

IGD was measured using the IGD Test (IGD-20) [22] in the Indonesian version [23]. IGD-20 consists of 20 items on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Examples of IGD-20 items in Indonesian are “saya perlu bermain gim daring lebih lama lagi” (I have significantly increased the amount of time I play games over last year), “saya bermain gim untuk melupakan hal yang menganggu saya” (I play games to forget about whatever’s bothering me), and “ketika saya sedang tidak bermain gim, saya merasa lebih mudah marah” (when I am not gaming, I feel more irritable). The internal consistency for IGD-20 in this study was α = 0.85.

Values were measured using the Indonesian version of the Revised Portrait Value Questionnaire (PVQ-RR) [17]. We measured 11 values from 19 values and used 33 items of PVQ-RR on a 6-point scale (1 = not like me at all, 2 = not like me, 3 = a little like me, 4 = somewhat like me, 5 = like me, 6 = very much like me). The 11 values were relevant to the online behaviors of gamers. Example of PVQ-RR items in Indonesian are “penting baginya untuk membuat keputusan sendiri tentang hidupnya” (it is important to him to make his own decisions about his life), “penting baginya untuk menjadi kaya raya” (it is important to him to be wealthy), and “penting baginya untuk tidak pernah direndahkan” (it is important to him never to be humiliated). The internal consistency of PVQ-RR from this study ranged from α = 0.429 to α = 0.746.

Data for the online behaviors of gamers were collected by questions such as “Do you play online games every day?”, “Have you ever played a pay-to-play online game?”, or “Have you ever used real money to buy something in an online game?”. The respondents answered those questions with “yes” or “no”. Multiple choice questions were given to collect gaming genre preferences, the average duration of playing online games, and motivation for playing.

3.2. Data Collection and Analysis

Data were collected via an online survey using LimeSurvey. We used the snowball sampling method for recruiting the respondents. The hypotheses were tested with multiple regression analysis. Other analysis results and descriptive statistics for demographics and online gaming behaviors were obtained. All analyses were performed using the JASP 0.14.1.0 version.

4. Results and Discussion

The statistics of the scores of IGD-20 and PVQ-RR are shown in

Table 1. Scores of IGD and values.

Item	Mean	Standard Deviation	Minimum	Maximum
IGD	55.47	11.67	24.00	88.00
Self-direction—thought	4.68	0.81	2.33	6.00
Self-direction—action	4.75	0.80	1.67	6.00
Stimulation	4.19	0.93	1.67	6.00
Hedonism	4.78	0.84	1.67	6.00
Achievement	4.37	0.92	1.67	6.00
Power—dominance	3.14	1.10	1.00	5.67
Power—resources	3.19	1.07	1.00	6.00
Face	4.23	1.06	1.67	6.00
Security—personal	4.84	0.86	2.33	6.00
Conformity—rules	4.59	0.90	1.33	6.00
Conformity—interpersonal	4.76	0.99	1.67	6.00

. The three highest average scores were found for personal security, hedonism, and interpersonal conformity. Those values represent safety in one’s immediate environment, the pursuit of personal pleasure, and one’s conformity with others. The results indicated that gamers seek enjoyment when playing online games and that the enjoyment is to find a sense of safety, both personally and socially, by avoiding negative responses from others.

Multiple regression results are presented in

Table 2. Results of ANOVA.

Model	R	R2	Adjusted R	Root mean square of errors	p
IGD on Values	0.26	0.07	0.01	11.61	0.32
Model	Sum of Squares	Degree of freedom	Mean of Square	F	p
IGD on Values	1725.26	11	156.84	1.16	0.32

and

Table 3. Results of multiple regression.

Model	B	Standard Error	Standardized	t	Significance
H0	59.80	7.31		8.18	<0.001
Self-direction—thought	−1.95	1.45	−0.14	−1.35	0.18
Self-direction—action	−0.95	1.59	−0.07	−0.60	0.55
Stimulation	−0.91	1.11	−0.07	−0.82	0.41
Hedonism	2.02	1.25	0.15	1.62	0.11
Achievement	−0.55	1.34	−0.04	−0.41	0.68
Power—dominance	0.23	0.95	0.02	0.24	0.81
Power—resources	0.32	1.02	0.03	0.32	0.75
Face	0.41	1.01	0.04	0.41	0.69
Security—personal	1.32	1.38	0.10	0.96	0.34
Conformity—rules	−1.62	1.09	−0.13	−1.49	0.14
Conformity—interpersonal	0.72	1.00	0.06	0.72	0.48

. The regression model was not significant; thus, the hypotheses were not supported.

With the 11 values, IGD could not be predicted (Table 3). The values present the driving motivation behind human behaviors [17], but do not represent a psychological disorder. Instead, values directly affected IGD. Reasons for playing games were inferred from the values, but the reasons could not explain gamers’ pathological online gaming. The relationship between values and behaviors depends on the importance of the values [24] and is weakened by social norms [25]. The online gaming behaviors of the respondents are presented in

Table 4. Online gaming behaviors (N = 186).

Online Gaming Behaviors		Number	Ratio (%)
Online gaming motivation	Advancement	8	4.30
	Mechanics	11	5.91
	Competition	16	8.60
	Socializing	20	10.75
	Relationships	7	3.76
	Teamwork	21	11.29
	Discovery	6	3.23
	Role Playing	11	5.91
	Customization	7	3.76
	Escapism	75	40.32
	Others	4	2.15
Do you play online games every day?	Yes	122	65.59
	No	64	34.41
Preference for playing online games	Play alone	45	24.19
	Play in a team	103	55.38
	Both	38	20.43
Have you ever played a pay-to-play online game?	Yes	123	66.13
	No	63	33.87
Have you ever bought a pay-to-play online game?	Yes	104	55.91
	No	82	44.09
Have you ever played a paid online game (not free-to-play), not necessarily one you bought yourself?	Yes	96	51.61
	No	90	48.39
Have you ever used real money to buy something in an online game?	Yes	156	83.87
	No	30	16.13
Have you ever tried to play a different genre of online game, different from the one you usually play?	Yes	152	81.72
	No	34	18.28
Duration for online gaming (average hours/day)	3−6 h/day	59	31.72
	6−9 h/day	90	48.39
	9−12 h/day	22	11.83
	12−15 h/day	10	5.38
	15−18 h/day	3	1.61
	More than 18 h/day	2	1.08
Have you ever bought cosmetic items in-game (which gives no advantage over other players)?	Yes	105	56.45
	No	81	43.55
Have you ever bought something that gives you advantage/affects the gameplay (such as in pay-to-win games)?	Yes	92	49.46
	No	94	50.54
Have you ever played a play-to-earn game?	Yes	69	37.10
	No	117	62.90
Online game genres	Action	39	20.97
	Role-playing	68	36.56
	Strategy	21	11.29
	Adventure and casual	9	4.84
	Simulation	10	5.38
	Sports and racing	6	3.23
	Others	33	17.74

. More than half of them played games every day, with an average duration of 6−9 h each day. Most of them played games in a team, with 74 of the respondents playing team games every day. Their preferred game genres varied, but role-playing and action games were the most popular. Overall, 40.32% of the respondents had escapism as their motivation to play games, indicating that the respondents played games to relax or to stop thinking about real-life problems [7]. The escapism explained why most of them were not found to be in the disordered group. From the other aspects of escapism, online gaming was used to escape negative moods, which is one of the IGD criteria [5]. This motivation pushes someone to keep playing games for long hours, leading to IGD. For the respondents, there was a significant positive correlation between IGD and average hours of gaming per day.

Most of the respondents played a paid game (66.13%), bought a game (55.91%), bought items in-game with real money (83.87%), and even played a game to earn money (37.10%). Online gaming behaviors involving real money were familiar to them. In 2019, a report noted that the Indonesian gaming market was the biggest in Southeast Asia, with a total spending of USD 1.1 billion [26]. There was a positive significant correlation (r = 0.149, p < 0.05) between IGD and playing a paid online game. The more a gamer played a paid game, the higher the IGD score was. The higher the IGD score was, the more money they paid for the online game. Details of the correlation between IGD and gaming behaviors are presented in Appendix A.

Values were not used to predict IGD. However, there were significant correlations between values and online gaming behaviors. A significant correlation was observed between the stimulation value and playing a pay-to-play online game (r = 0.153, p < 0.05, Appendix B). Pay-to-play behavior was correlated significantly with the duration of online gaming (r = 0.344, p < 0.05). Similarly, the achievement and hedonism values were correlated significantly with playing a paid game. IGD was correlated significantly with gaming duration (r = 0.300, p < 0.01) and with playing a pay-to-play (r = 0.168, p < 0.05) or paid game (r = 0.149, p < 0.05). Stimulation, achievement, and hedonism were indirectly correlated with IGD, which must gamers must be notified of.

Power (dominance) was correlated with having spent real money in online games (r = 0.151, p < 0.05) and buying items in-game (r = 0.152, p < 0.05). Power (dominance) means the motivation to control other people to avoid threats to the self. This means that gamers try to exert dominance over other people through their money spending and cosmetics in the games they play. Personal security was correlated significantly with trying a different game genre (r = 0.149, p < 0.05) and buying something in-game for advantages over other players (r = 0.182, p < 0.05). Personal security motivates gamers to seek personal safety in their immediate environment. This shows that gamers prefer to attain a sense of personal safety, including spending money for an advantage in-game.

5. Conclusions

In this research, we assumed that the values of the game players were used to predict IGD. However, the regression result showed that values did not directly influence IGD. Therefore, values neither led gamers towards nor protected them from IGD. Values are the underlying motivation of online gaming behaviors, but these values do not cause IGD. On the other hand, behaviors such as gaming duration and playing a paid online game were correlated with IGD. Gamers must be cautious in their gaming activities, especially in playing a paid online game that makes them lose time. Gamers must pay attention to the values they hold as important, especially the values of power through dominance and personal security. When these values are engaged in playing paid online games, they must be aware of the important values and reduce their gaming duration. Online games are an application of digital technology. Important values of individuals can encourage gamers to have healthier online gaming behaviors.

This research has limitations, such as no strict control over the characteristics of the respondents. The respondents were not grouped according to their online gaming hours or levels of gaming and various online games. Future research is necessary to investigate how gamers develop the symptoms of IGD, such as playing games for excessive hours, or economic benefits.