Image credit: Cecilia de la Paz, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

A new study from the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) has offered roadmap for understanding video games’ complex impact on wellbeing.

The researchers identified 13 distinct ways video games can influence players’ mental health – both positively and negatively.  

Led by Dr Nick Ballou and Thomas Hakman, the research offers the most comprehensive review to date of proposed causal links between gaming and mental health.

The team used established modelling strategies to propose concrete conditions where these effects are likely to be causal, rather than just correlational.   

Ballou, a postdoctoral researcher at the OII said: “Our aim was threefold: First, we mapped out a wide spectrum of potential mental health impacts. Second, we explored how these depend on not just the game itself, but on the individual and context. Finally, we reframed these effects in explicitly causal terms – something the field has been sorely lacking.”  

Key insights 

The study outlines 13 mechanisms through which gaming might impact mental wellbeing, including:  

• Stress relief – Games can help manage emotions when they align with a player’s current needs. But when relied on as the only source of relief, they may contribute to emotional dysregulation and reduced longer-term resilience;  
• Autonomy, belonging, and mastery – Gaming can satisfy players’ needs for autonomy, belonging, and mastery, but can also trigger feelings of coercion, failure and loneliness. People with a stronger sense of coherence (those who view life as comprehensible, manageable and meaningful) are more likely to benefit and less likely to be harmed;
• Social health – Multiplayer gaming with friends can strengthen bonds, but playing online with strangers can expose players to toxic environments, suppress social ties and lead to feelings of loneliness;
• Passion vs Obsession – A healthy, harmonious passion for gaming is likely to positively impact the player’s wellbeing, whereas an obsessive passion, driven by unmet needs elsewhere in life, is likely to have a negative impact;  
• Nostalgia – Emotional investment in storylines and characters can generate a sense of meaning, appreciation, and vitality – in many cases, this connects to nostalgia for one’s youth;   
• Exercise games – Video games with movement controls and involving some physical activity can produce a short-term positive effect on mood and energy;   
• Identity development – Gaming can offer time and space to experiment with different identities.  Exploring the self in a safe and social space can create greater coherence and reduce distress from conflicting identities;  
• Cognitive functioning – Fast-paced games with action mechanics are likely to improve executive function, working memory, and attention control;  
• Therapeutic games – Games supporting treatments such as cognitive behavioural therapy can increase motivation to engage with the treatment, making it easier to persist;   
• Displacement – Excessive gaming can crowd out vital activities like sleep, work, exercise or relationships. Spending less time on these activities can lead to feelings of guilt, loneliness and greater fatigue, leading to lower life satisfaction;  
• Financial harms – Features such as in-game purchases and loot boxes are linked to overspending and gambling-like behaviours, potentially increasing financial stress and dysregulation;   
• Gaming disorder – When gaming becomes compulsive and interferes with daily life, it can elevate anxiety and lead to poorer functioning in other aspects of life such as work and school; and  
• Sexualisation – Exposure to sexualized game content may lead to lower body satisfaction for women and increase misogynistic attitudes, especially among men, negatively impacting women’s self-esteem.  

Specific dynamics

Hakman, a PhD researcher at the OII, added: “The paper shows that video gaming is more than a simple one-dimensional construct.

“And that any well-being outcomes are not just shaped by whether a person plays games but by the specific dynamics of who, what, when, why, and how much they play.”  
  
In assessing the effects, the researchers used counterfactual ‘what if’ scenarios, such as removing financial incentives or changing game mechanics, to determine likely causes of mental health outcomes.   

Senior author of the study, Professor Andrew Przybylski of the OII, said: “There’s no single answer to how gaming affects mental health, but our framework helps cut through the noise.

“By focusing on cause and effect, we hope this work encourages better theory development, and ultimately better digital wellbeing for players.”  

The full paper is published in Technology, Mind and Behaviour.