ArticleAddictive behaviors2021
Avatar identification and problematic gaming: The role of self-concept clarity.
Article in Addictive behaviors, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed.
- Playing the Self, Paying the Price: A Dual-Path Model of Avatar Identification and Online Game Consumption.PsyCh journal · 2026Article
- The relationship between video game use, antisocial behaviour, and bullying in adolescents and young adults, and gender differences.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Gaming for Self-Searching? A Three-Wave Longitudinal Investigation on the Correlations and Predictions Among Self-Concept Clarity, Player-Avatar Identification, and Internet Gaming Disorder.Journal of youth and adolescence · 2026Article
- Who I am and who I want to be: The positive effect of self-concept clarity on purpose, life satisfaction, and personal meaning among Chinese and Indonesian emerging adults.Current issues in personality psychology · 2025Article
- User-avatar bond as diagnostic indicator for gaming disorder: A word on the side of caution.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2024Article
- From active escapism to virtual withdrawal: Validation of the Compensatory-Dissociative Online Gaming scales (C-DOGs).Journal of behavioral addictions · 2024Article
- Exploring e-sports fans' motivation for watching live streams based on self-determination theory.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Deep learning(s) in gaming disorder through the user-avatar bond: A longitudinal study using machine learning.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2023Article
- Investigating gaming structural features associated with gaming disorder and proposing a revised taxonomical model: A scoping review.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2023Article
- The serial mediation effects of body image-coping strategies and avatar-identification in the relationship between self-concept clarity and gaming disorder: A pilot study.Addictive behaviors reports · 2023Article
- Rich Get Richer: Extraversion Statistically Predicts Reduced Internet Addiction through Less Online Anonymity Preference and Extraversion Compensation.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- To Be or Not to Be a Female Gamer: A Qualitative Exploration of Female Gamer Identity.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Player-avatar interactions in habitual and problematic gaming: A qualitative investigation.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Some video-gaming activities feature customizable avatars that enable users to fulfil self-identity needs. Research evidence (e.g., fMRI and survey studies) has suggested that poorer self-concept and stronger avatar identification are associated with problematic gaming. Player-avatar relationships have thus been proposed to require attention in gaming disorder assessment and interventions. To examine the interplay of player-avatar interactions in problematic gaming, this study investigated whether avatar identification differed according to avatar characteristics and game types, and whether the association between avatar identification and problem gaming was mediated by self-concept clarity. A total of 993 adult respondents completed an online survey that assessed problematic gaming, avatar identification, and self-concept clarity. The results indicated that avatar identification scores were generally unrelated to avatar characteristics (e.g., human resemblance, degree of customizability, and in-game perspective). Avatar identification was significantly positively related to problematic gaming and significantly negatively related to self-concept clarity. There was a significant indirect relationship between avatar identification on problem gaming mediated through self-concept clarity. These findings suggest that poorer self-concept clarity may be one mechanism by which avatar identification affects problem gaming. Future research with clinical samples may help to gain a better understanding of avatar-related processes and psychological vulnerabilities related to problematic gaming.
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