Seeing Your Own Mind Playing Out on the Screen: A Constructivist Grounded Theory of Video Games as Dynamic Coping Systems

Whilst video games have shown their capacity to support coping during periods of personal difficulty, there remains a limited understanding of exactly how they scaffold these outcomes. Adopting a Constructivist Grounded Theory approach, this interview study explores the lived experiences of 17 players across three video games: Disco Elysium , Darkest Dungeon , and Stardew Valley . Drawing on the analysis, we propose the Games as Dynamic Coping Systems model, which illustrates a dynamic, recursive relationship between players, game aspects, coping mechanisms and coping outcomes. Our findings provide an in-depth account of the distinct ways in which different games can support coping. The study contributes a theoretical framework that enriches our understanding of gaming as a valuable form of coping during difficult life experiences.