Problematic gaming: A cluster analysis using gaming motivations and negative emotional states

Studies have identified different subtypes of problematic gamers. However, these studies were either conducted among adolescents or adults who played World of Warcraft, imposing a limit to the generalizability of the results. Consequently, the current study aims to address this limitation by recruiting adult gamers of varied game genres. Participants were a representative of sample of 1001 young adults (50.15 % females; 74.43 % Chinese, 13.29 % Malays, 9.29 % Indians, and 3.00 % Others). They completed instruments that assess gaming motivations, negative emotional states, and problematic gaming. The results identified three clusters: participants with high risk, moderate risk, and low risk for problematic gaming. The current study provided evidence of homogeneity among problematic gamers (i.e., Cluster 1 only), with the cluster reporting the highest scores on gaming motivations and negative emotional states. Limitations include the potential overrepresentation of the action, adventure, and role-playing game genres by participants. Future research directions include comparing the number and type of clusters between different demographic segments and exploring various combinations of clustering variables on the number and type of clusters.