Adolescent Problematic Internet Gaming: What roles do deviant peer affiliation and hedonic gaming experiences play?

This research investigates the pathways leading to Adolescent Problematic Internet Gaming (APIG). It specifically examines how psychological factors (Interpersonal Incompetence, Perceived Stress, Frustration, Identity Crisis) interact with Deviant Peer Affiliation (DPA) and Hedonic Gaming Experiences (HGE) to predict APIG.Using survey data from 214 Chinese adolescents (aged 13-16) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the study tested an integrated theoretical model.Findings confirmed that the specified psychological factors significantly predict both DPA and HGE. In turn, DPA and HGE were strong positive predictors of APIG. A reinforcing link where HGE also predicted DPA was identified.This study provides empirical evidence for these complex pathways contributing to APIG. The associated dataset contains the anonymized survey responses used in this analysis.