Is playing video games during COVID-19 lockdown related to adolescent well-being? The role of emotional self-efficacy and positive coping

ABSTRACT

The relationship between adolescents’ use of video games and their well-being is controversial and largely unexplored during the COVID −19 pandemic. This study examined the association between adolescent video game use and well-being during a nationwide lockdown (March-May 2020) and investigated whether this association was mediated by emotional self-efficacy and moderated by positive coping. The study involved 168 Italian adolescents aged 14–19 years (M = 16.6 years, SD = 1.6). Data were collected through an anonymous online questionnaire. Moderated mediation analysis showed that playing video games was indirectly associated with lower health complaints and higher affective well-being by mediating emotional self-efficacy. In addition, positive coping was found to moderate the relationship between video game use and emotional self-efficacy. Results indicate that both emotional self-efficacy and positive coping enabled adolescents to benefit from playing video games in terms of individual well-being during home confinement.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• video games
• adolescents
• emotional self-efficacy
• coping

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Notes

¹ In early 2020 Italy was the first western country to experience the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak with high contagion and mortality rates. Specifically, from 9 March to 3 May 2020, a strict national lockdown was imposed, with all activities and schools closed and only essential services guaranteed.