Predictors of Gaming Addiction Among University Students: Gender, Spiritual Well-Being, and Meaning in Life

Year 2025, Volume: 10 Issue: 2, 297 - 312, 01.06.2025

İbrahim Taş , Ahmet Uğurlu

Abstract

Game addiction attracts the attention of researchers as a current public health problem. Investigating the variables associated with game addiction will provide a better understanding of the problem. Spiritual well-being and meaning of life variables can be considered as concepts negatively related to game addiction. In this context, the aim of this study is to examine the relationship between game addiction and spiritual well-being and meaning of life in university students. The research group consisted of 300 university students, 229 (76.3%) of whom were female and 71 (23.7%) of whom were male.
The ages of the participants ranged between 19 and 25 and the average age was 20.68. Personal information form, game playing disorder scale, spiritual well-being scale and meaning of life scales were used as data collection tools. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that there was a negative relationship between game addiction and spiritual well-being and meaning of life. In addition, it was determined that gender, age, spiritual well-being and the presence meaning of life sub-dimension predicted game addiction negatively. According to the results obtained from the study, as spiritual well-being and meaning of life increase, game addiction decreases.

Keywords

Game addiction , Spiritual well being , Meaning of life , Gender , Age

Predictors of Gaming Addiction Among University Students: Gender, Spiritual Well- Being, and Meaning in Life

Abstract

Gaming addiction has emerged as a pressing public health concern, attracting significant attention from researchers. Investigating the factors associated with gaming addiction can contribute to a better understanding of this issue. Spiritual well-being and meaning in life may be considered relevant constructs in this context. Accordingly, this study aims to examine the relationship between gaming addiction, spiritual well-being, and meaning in life among university students. The study sample comprised 420 university students, including 234 women (55.7%) and 186 men (44.3%), aged between 17 and 44 years (M = 21.82). Data were collected using a demographic information form, the Gaming Disorder Scale, the Spiritual Well-Being Scale, and the Meaning in Life Scale. The findings revealed a negative correlation between gaming addiction, spiritual well-being, and meaning in life. Furthermore, spiritual well-being and the presence of meaning subdimension negatively predicted gaming addiction, while gender was also found to be a significant predictor. These results suggest that higher levels of spiritual well-being and meaning in life may serve as protective factors against gaming addiction.

Keywords

Gaming addiction , Spiritual well-being , Meaning in life , Gender , Hierarchical regression

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