Playing Through Tough Times: Exploring the Relationship between Game Aspects and Coping Strategies during Difficult Life Challenges

Sahar Mirhadi; Jo Iacovides; Alena Denisova

doi:10.1145/3677097

Playing Through Tough Times: Exploring the Relationship between Game Aspects and Coping Strategies during Difficult Life Challenges

Sahar Mirhadi, Jo Iacovides, Alena Denisova

Computer Science

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The potential benefits of playing video games during times of difficulty have been increasingly recognised by researchers yet little is known about how particular aspects of games may relate to different forms of coping. An exploratory survey of 130 participants and content analysis identified 31 game aspects, across 6 categories, that were beneficial or detrimental to players. Our findings illustrate that games can support a range of coping strategies, including emotion-focused, avoidance, and meaning-focused coping. We also identify how specific aspects of games relate to different coping strategies during times of personal difficulty. For instance, emotion-focused coping was most commonly linked to challenge game aspects, where overcoming difficulties allowed players to experience positive emotions such as competence. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into how games may be able to facilitate a range of coping strategies during tough times.

Original language	English
Article number	332
Number of pages	25
Journal	Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
Volume	8
Issue number	CHI PLAY
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3677097
Publication status	Published - 15 Oct 2024

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10.1145/3677097

Playing_Through_Tough_Times
© 2024 Copyright held by the owner/author(s). This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the University’s Research Publications and Open Access policy.
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Cite this

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abstract = "The potential benefits of playing video games during times of difficulty have been increasingly recognised by researchers yet little is known about how particular aspects of games may relate to different forms of coping. An exploratory survey of 130 participants and content analysis identified 31 game aspects, across 6 categories, that were beneficial or detrimental to players. Our findings illustrate that games can support a range of coping strategies, including emotion-focused, avoidance, and meaning-focused coping. We also identify how specific aspects of games relate to different coping strategies during times of personal difficulty. For instance, emotion-focused coping was most commonly linked to challenge game aspects, where overcoming difficulties allowed players to experience positive emotions such as competence. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into how games may be able to facilitate a range of coping strategies during tough times.",

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