A Toxic Feedback Loop? The Relationship Between Performance-Contingent Self-Esteem and Toxic Communication in Adolescent Videogame Play

Initial research suggests that a vicious cycle of toxicity exists within social gaming environments, whereby young people who receive more toxic communication from others are more likely to share toxic communication themselves. However, few longitudinal studies have explored the psychological mechanisms which may help to explain this relationship. Drawing upon social cognitive theory, this study explored the interrelations between receiving and sending toxic communication whilst gaming via performance-contingent self-esteem. Three-wave panel data were collected from 405 Belgian adolescents (M = 15.13, SD = 1.52; Female = 64.20%) and analyzed using a random intercept cross-lagged panel model. A direct reciprocal relationship was found between receiving and sending toxic communication whilst gaming. Furthermore, receiving toxic communication whilst gaming had a positive indirect effect on sending toxic communication whilst gaming via performance-contingent self-esteem. Gender did not moderate any within-person relationships in our hypothesized model. Findings suggest that exposure to toxic communication in social gaming environments can have significant cognitive and behavioral implications for adolescent gamers. Results also indicate that interventions focused on adolescents’ perceptions of performance may help to reduce toxicity within gaming communities.