The following list of research articles and websites is by no means exhaustive, however it provides an overview of contemporary thinking around video games, when gameplay becomes unhealthy and some possible reasons why.
Some of these articles have been published in journals that do not readily make their articles available online. However, copies can be obtained by providing the information below to a research librarian at your local or main library branch or from a State or University library.
Download an MS Word 97 doc version of this list (221KB)
Gaming and wellbeing
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Internet gaming disorder fact sheet In the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) (the standard classification of mental disorders used by mental health professionals in the United States), Internet Gaming Disorder is identified in Section III as a condition warranting more clinical research and experience before it might be considered for inclusion in the main book as a formal disorder.
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Internet gaming addiction: current perspectives by Daria J Kuss; Psychology Research and Behavior Management, Birmingham City University, Birmingham, UK.
Published online: Nov 14, 2013. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, Birmingham City University, Birmingham, UK
Download the PDF document (239 KB)
Internet Gaming Addiction: A Systematic Review of Empirical Research Daria Joanna Kuss & Mark D. Griffiths. Published online: March 16, 2011. # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011.
You will need to request this from a reference librarian if you do not have access to this publication.
Online gaming addiction in children and adolescents: a review of the empirical research Daria Joanna Kuss & Mark D. Griffiths. Journal of Behavioral Addictions 1(1), pp. 1–20 (2012)
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Why can SOME video games be “addictive”? Web site article exploring the qualities of games that result in more obsession than others.
Videogames and wellbeing: a comprehensive review Dr Daniel Johnson, Associate Professor Christian Jones, Dr Laura Scholes, Michelle Colder Carras. The Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre. Website article.
Emerging research suggests that HOW young people approach gameplay as well as with whom they play may be more important in terms of wellbeing than WHAT they play. This web page includes links to a PDF of the research and a webinar.
“The Benefits of Playing Video Games” by Isabela Granic, Adam Lobel, and Rutger C. M. E. Engels. Radboud University Nijmegen. January 2014, American Psychologist
Download the PDF (198 KB)
Grand Theft Childhood? The web site of the Harvard study that questions the hype and assumptions about the effects of video games on kids.
Cheryl K. Olson’s (co-author of Grand Theft Childhood?) YouTube Channel This YouTube Channel has a range of videos related to research into children and gaming.
A motivational model of video game engagement. Przybylski, Andrew K.; Rigby, C. Scott; Ryan, Richard M. Review of General Psychology, Vol 14(2), Jun 2010, 154-166. doi: This paper advances a theory-based motivational model for examining and evaluating the ways by which video game engagement shapes psychological processes and influences well-being.
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Individual differences in motives, preferences, and pathology in video games: the gaming attitudes, motives, and experiences scales (GAMES)
Joseph Hilgard*, Christopher R. Engelhardt and Bruce D. Bartholow, Social-Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO, USA
Download the PDF (1.43 MB)
Gaming and gambling
Gambling on a game: FIFA 13 and Virgin Gaming
A Crikey website article. The EA Sports Arena allows players to connect with a service called Virgin Gaming that allows players to win and lose real money on multi-player games when played in online mode.
The convergence of Gambling and Digital Media: Implications for Gambling in Young People
Daniel King, Paul Delfabbro, Mark Griffiths, Published 16 September 2009, (c)Springer Science & Business Media LLC
This paper overviews some of the available monetary and non-monetary forms of gambling within new digital and online media and monetary forms of games with gambling-like experiences.
Download the PDF document (178 KB)
