Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39819889›Full record

ArticleJournal of behavioral addictions2025

From healthy play to gaming disorder: Psychological profiles from emotional regulation and motivational factors.

Cátia Martins Castro, David Dias Neto

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of behavioral addictions, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. A qualitative exploration of women's experiences, stigma, and access to care in gaming disorder.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Cátia Martins Castro1ISPA Instituto Universitário, Portugal.ORCID 0000-0002-4891-3154
David Dias Neto1ISPA Instituto Universitário, Portugal.ORCID 0000-0002-3129-262X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background and Aims: The widespread popularity of video games reflects their appeal to meet fundamental needs. This study aims to investigate the psychological factors of gaming use, identifying profiles ranging from healthy to gaming disorder. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 5,222 participants were surveyed. This international sample included adolescents and adults (16-69 years, M = 25.6 years, SD = 6.44), 48.66% men (n = 2,541; M = 26.4, SD = 7.03), 42.32% women (n = 2,210; M = 25.1, SD = 5.78), and 9.02% non-binary individuals (n = 471; M = 23.3, SD = 5.23), spanning from casual gamers to esports professional players. Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was employed to identify distinct psychological profiles. The profile indicators included emotional regulation and motivations for playing video games. The profile correlates analysed included gaming disorder symptoms, time spent gaming and sociodemographics. Results: The LPA revealed four profiles labelled as avoidant (20.16%), engaged (38.95%), relational (26.01%), and dysregulated (15.78%). Results suggested that the dysregulated profile had the most emotional regulation difficulties, a low level of general motivation, and less interest in recreational gaming, presenting the highest risk for gaming disorder. Discussion and Conclusions: This study's findings present the first profiles encompassing key detailed psychological factors affecting gamers' behaviour across all game genres, considering three genders. These profiles can aid researchers and clinicians in developing further research on targeted prevention and intervention programs tailored to each profile's characteristics to promote healthy gaming habits and mitigate the risks and harm associated with gaming disorder.

Indexed as

Emotional RegulationInternet Addiction DisorderMotivationVideo GamesAdolescentAdultAgedCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedYoung Adultemotional regulationgaming disorderLatent profile analysismotivationprofilesvideo games

Identifiers

PMID39819889
PMCPMC11974420

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.