The Pattern of Relationship between Attachment Styles, Gaming Addiction and Empathetic Tendency among Adolescents
Publication details
| Year: | 2019 |
| DOI: | 10.14689/ejer.2019.83.6 |
| Issued: | 2019 |
| Language: | English |
| Volume: | 19 |
| Issue: | 83 |
| Start Page: | 125 |
| End Page: | 144 |
| Editors: | |
| Authors: | Taş İ. |
| Type: | Journal article |
| Journal: | Eurasian Journal of Educational Research |
| Publisher: | Ani Publishing and Consulting Company |
| Topics: | Wellbeing |
| Sample: | The study group consisted of 338 adolescents studying in a middle school and a high school in Umraniye , Istanbul during the 2018-2019 academic year. 117 of the students (52.5%) were female while 160 thereof (47.5%) were male. One of them left the gender box empty. The student ages ranged between 10 and 17, and their age mean was 13. It was determined that the sample size is sufficient for Chi-square tests (Barret, 2007) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) (Kline, 2011). |
| Implications For Parents About: | Parental digital literacy |
| Implications For Policy Makers About: | Other |
| Other PolicyMaker Implication: | educational programs for parents on safe use of the Internet |
| Implications For Stakeholders About: | Researchers |
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this research was to investigate the pattern of relationship between attachment styles, gaming addiction and empathy among adolescents.
Research Methods: The correlational survey method was used herein. In order to explain the pattern of relationship between the variables, a theoretical model based on the literature was recommended, which was tested by the Structural Equality Modeling (SEM). The sample of the research consisted of 338 middle school and high school students studying in Istanbul Umraniye district. 117 of the students (52.5%) were female while 160 thereof (47.5%) were male. Student ages ranged between 10 and 17, and their age mean was 13. The data was collected by the Attachment Styles Scale, Gaming Addiction Scale and Empathetic Tendency Scale.
Findings: According the result of the Analysis, secure addiction significantly predicted gaming addiction in a negative way while it significantly predicted empathetic tendency in a positive way. Avoidant addiction significantly predicted gaming addiction in a positive way and empathetic tendency in a negative way. Anxious-ambivalent addiction, on the other hand, only predicted gaming addiction, in a positive way and significantly, and gaming addiction significantly predicted empathetic tendency in a negative way.
Implications for Research and Practice: The relationship between the attachment styles and gaming addiction and empathetic tendency can be tested on different samples. Practitioners working in the field can work more effectively in coping with gaming addiction by taking the attachment styles and empathetic tendencies into consideration. The psycho-educational programs aimed to mitigate the gaming addiction can include modules to raise awareness about the attachment styles and increase the empathetic tendency.
Outcome
Considering game addiction as a mental health problem, interest in game addiction and related concepts have increased. The purpose of this research was to investigate the pattern of relationships between attachment styles, and gaming addiction and empathy among adolescents. For this purpose, a model was proposed based on theoretical structure, and the proposed model was tested with Structural Equation Modeling. The path analysis proved the existence of the explanatory relationships between the variables. According to the model, secure attachment and avoidant attachment and anxious-ambivalent attachment directly impacted the gaming addiction. Secure attachment and avoidant attachment directly impacted the empathetic tendency. Also, gaming addiction appeared to impact the empathetic tendency directly. (Taş, 2019, 9.135)