1Department of Psychology, Gachon University, Seongnam, South Korea.
2Department of Psychology, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, South Korea.
J Behav Addict. 2023 Feb 10;12(1):148-158. doi: 10.1556/2006.2022.00092. Print 2023 Mar 30.
Online gaming motives have proven to be useful in differentiating problematic engagement in online gaming. However, the mixture modeling approach for classifying problematic subtypes based on gaming motives remains limited. This study attempted to differentiate heterogeneous online gamers into more homogenous subtypes based on gaming motives using latent profile analysis (LPA). We also compared various psychological and gaming/leisure related variables across the derived profiles.
A total of 674 Korean online game users (mean age = 21.81 years, male = 76%) completed self-report questionnaires, including the Korean version of the Motives for Online Gaming Questionnaire (K-MOGQ). After the LPA, the relationships between latent profile membership and auxiliary variables were explored.
Four latent profiles were identified, that were further classified into one problematic (highly motivated-dissatisfied gamer), one highly engaged (highly motivated-satisfied gamer), and two casual (moderately-motivated casual gamer and lowly-motivated casual gamer) gamer profiles. Inter-profile comparisons revealed that highly motivated-dissatisfied gamer had the most pathological profile, characterized by high Internet gaming disorder (IGD) tendency, neuroticism, and impulsivity, but the lowest recreation motive. While highly motivated-satisfied gamer also demonstrated a heightened IGD tendency, they showed positive patterns of psychological and gaming/leisure-related variables, which indicated they could be better considered as high engaged instead of problematic gamers.
These results indicate that the recreation motive, in addition to fantasy or escape motives, is an important factor in differentiating maladaptive online gamers. Classifying online gamers based on gaming motives can contribute to a clearer conceptualization of heterogeneous gamers, paving the way for individualized assessment and treatment planning.
在线游戏动机已被证明可用于区分在线游戏中的问题性行为。然而，基于游戏动机对问题亚型进行分类的混合建模方法仍然有限。本研究试图使用潜在剖面分析（LPA）根据游戏动机将异质的在线游戏玩家分为更同质的亚类。我们还比较了不同心理和游戏/休闲相关变量在得出的特征谱中的差异。
共有 674 名韩国在线游戏玩家（平均年龄为 21.81 岁，男性占 76%）完成了自我报告问卷，包括韩国版在线游戏动机问卷（K-MOGQ）。在 LPA 之后，探讨了潜在特征谱成员与辅助变量之间的关系。
确定了四个潜在特征谱，进一步分为一个问题型（高动机-不满玩家）、一个高参与型（高动机-满意玩家）和两个休闲型（中等动机休闲玩家和低动机休闲玩家）玩家特征谱。组间比较表明，高动机不满玩家的病理性特征谱最多，表现为高网络游戏障碍（IGD）倾向、神经质和冲动性，但娱乐动机最低。而高动机满意玩家也表现出较高的 IGD 倾向，但他们表现出积极的心理和游戏/休闲相关变量模式，这表明他们可以更好地被视为高参与玩家而不是问题玩家。
这些结果表明，除了幻想或逃避动机外，娱乐动机是区分适应不良在线玩家的一个重要因素。基于游戏动机对在线玩家进行分类有助于更清晰地概念化异质玩家，为个性化评估和治疗计划铺平道路。
