Differential associations between distinct facets of empathy, engaged gaming, and problematic gaming behaviours

The proposed inclusion of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) as a formal diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association is controversial. Whereas some argue that highly engaged gaming is a normal behaviour and can be healthy, others argue that such gaming can negatively impact key social cognitive functions, particularly empathy. However, existing research often conflates time spent gaming with problematic gaming, tends to focus on trait empathy, and often neglects to consider potential dissociable effects on distinct facets of empathy. The present study compared whether time spent gaming or symptoms of IGD best predicted differences in situational emotional and cognitive empathy. Behavioural data were collected remotely from 220 participants residing in Canada or the United States (mean age = 32.6, 68.6% male, 60.9% White) from 2022 through 2023. Linear regression analyses revealed that IGD symptoms, but not recent time spent gaming, predicted an increase in emotional empathy (both empathic concern and affective sharing), but a decrease in cognitive empathy accuracy. These dissociable associations are discussed with reference to the potential contribution of individual differences in emotion regulation. These findings challenge the notion that gaming frequency alone leads to social dysfunction, highlighting the importance of problematic behaviours and preoccupations associated with gaming addiction. Future interventions may benefit from targeting motivations for gaming rather than solely focusing on reducing time spent gaming.