Video game addiction moderates pathways from violent gaming to emotional blunting in adolescents: Serial mediation through desensitization and aggression.

BACKGROUND

The psychological and social consequences of recurring exposure to Violent Video Games (VVGs) are a concerning issue of global health interest. Prolonged engagement with VVGs can lead to addiction, desensitizing adolescents to real-world violence and impairing their empathy. This desensitization may trigger various forms of aggression and result in emotional blunting.

PURPOSE: This study aims to assess the mediation pathways between violent video gaming, desensitization, aggression, and blunted emotional reactions among adolescents using gaming addiction as a moderator.

DESIGN AND

METHODS

A descriptive, correlational, multi-group study was conducted among 501 randomly selected adolescents. The moderation and mediation analysis was used to identify the direct and indirect pathways linking the study variables.

RESULTS

Adolescents with problematic videogaming (31.9%, n = 160) reported significantly higher scores in violent gaming, aggression, desensitization, and emotional blunting than non-problematic (p < .001). Adolescents with problematic videogaming, violent gaming directly predicted aggression (β =0.60, p < .001), whereas non-problematic adolescents demonstrated emotion-mediated pathways through desensitization (β = 0.29, p < .001). Despite different mechanisms, both groups exhibited comparable total effects on emotional blunting.

CONCLUSIONS

Adolescents with problematic videogaming exhibited higher levels of aggression, desensitization, and emotional blunting compared to non-problematic peers. The moderated mediation analysis revealed that addiction influences the pathways connecting engagement with VVGs to emotional blunting, as problematic gamers showed a direct pathway from VVGs to aggression, whereas non-problematic gamers followed an emotion-mediated pathway to aggression through desensitization.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PEDIATRIC NURSING PRACTICE: Pediatric nurses should incorporate screening for gaming behavior into adolescent psychosocial assessments. Adolescents with problematic videogaming require targeted behavioral interventions to manage aggression, while adolescents with non-problematic videogaming benefit from preventive emotional regulation and media literacy programs.