“It’s not that I don’t have a life, it’s that I choose to have many”: A Qualitative Exploration of Video Gamers’ Perceived Motivations for Gaming and their Impact on Psychological Health.

While several factors have been highlighted as either facilitators or inhibitors of basic psychological needs in video gaming, there is little evidence to identify the specific mechanisms by which these effects operate. Using qualitative semi-structured online interviews with 15 video game players (MAge = 38.28, SD = 12.65) and analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis, this study explored experiences in video games and gaming culture that provided either a source of need satisfaction or need frustration. Participants discussed experiences that provided a sense of competence, mood management, social connection, and positive disengagement, as well as experiences that could be unfair, unpleasant, toxic, or generally stress-inducing. This study highlights specific factors that promote positive well-being and contribute to negative well-being in players and illustrates less-explored experiential factors that are vital to video gaming as a psychologically restorative activity.