Basic psychological need frustration and problematic gaming: testing the mediating role of emotion regulation

Problematic video gaming is associated with a host of adverse psychological, interpersonal, and functional outcomes. Previous research has applied Self-Determination Theory (SDT) to link problematic gaming to the low satisfaction or frustration of basic psychological needs (i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness), suggesting it may be a maladaptive coping response to these need-deficits. Maladaptive coping patterns such as problematic gaming often stem from emotion regulation difficulties, yet the role of emotion regulation has not been examined within a needs-based model of problematic gaming. The present study examined whether individual differences in emotion regulation mediate the relationships between psychological need satisfaction or frustration and problematic gaming. Two hundred participants recruited from online gaming forums and social media groups completed online measures of psychological need satisfaction and frustration, emotion regulation, and problematic gaming. Four parallel mediation models tested indirect effects of need satisfaction and frustration through two emotion regulation taxonomies: styles (assessed with the Emotion Regulation Inventory) and difficulties (assessed with the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale). Different aspects of emotion regulation partially mediated the effects of psychological need satisfaction on problematic gaming, with three out of four models revealing mediated effects consistent with the hypotheses. Need frustration predicted greater problematic gaming through increased suppressive regulation and impulse control difficulties, while need satisfaction predicted lower problematic gaming via decreased difficulties with emotional awareness and impulse control. Contrary to hypotheses, need satisfaction also predicted greater problematic gaming through suppressive regulation. Overall, these findings suggest that emotion regulation is a key mechanism through which need-deficits contribute to problematic gaming. Implications for the development of prevention and intervention strategies are discussed.