Adolescent Online Gaming in Jordan: A Cross‐Sectional Study on Habits and Health Perceptions Through the Health Belief Model

BACKGROUND: Playing online games is one of the main activities in leisure time for adolescents but it has started to cause serious concerns about their mental and physical health. PURPOSE: The current study, based on the Health Belief Model (HBM), examines the relationship between online gaming habits and health perceptions among adolescents in Jordan. HBM provides a framework to understand how perceptions of susceptibility to harm and cues to action influence health behaviors, mainly through hours of playing games a day. METHODOLOGY: This cross-sectional study utilized a sample of 403 adolescents aged 10-17 years, employing a Google form to assess daily gaming duration, types of games played, and perceptions of physical and mental health. We used SPSS 24.0 to do both descriptive and inferential statistics. RESULTS: Participants spent approximately 3.1 h daily on gaming. More than a quarter of participants did not perceive gaming as harmful to physical or mental health, suggesting low perceived susceptibility. Also, 36.7% had not received any counseling on the potential harms of online gaming, highlighting a gap in cues to action. Among those who received guidance, parents were recognized as the principal source of counseling. The study found significant negative correlations among age, daily gaming hours, and perceptions of physical and mental health. Regression analyses revealed that older age, type of game played, and increased daily hours of gaming significantly predicted poorer physical health ratings (β = -0.220, p < 0.01; β = -2.838, p < 0.05, β = -0.310, p < 0.01, respectively). On the other hand, older age (β = -0.199, p < 0.05), increased daily gaming hours (β = -0.176, p < 0.05), and believing that online games harm mental health (β = -0.285, p < 0.01) were significant predictors of poorer mental health perceptions. CONCLUSIONS: The study results underscore the necessity for initiatives designed to foster healthier gaming habits and improving awareness of potential harms among adolescents, parents, teachers, school nurses, and healthcare practitioners in Jordan.