The self-report survey included several items that reflected “a clinical cutoff level” for video-game addiction. A small percentage of participants were Latter-day Saints. Researchers surveyed a group of adolescents, both young men and young women, about video-game addiction every year, once a year, for six years. The study would explore what predicts “somebody who is ‘high’ on a video-game addiction and then, perhaps, what are some of the outcomes.” So she and a small group of fellow researchers, both from BYU and other institutions, sought to collect and analyze long-term data from hundreds of game-playing adolescents who were on the cusp of young adulthood. And many cast doubts about the long-term effects of any apparent “addictions.”Ĭoyne’s strength is longitudinal research - looking at variables over an extended period of time. The available studies only measured behavior over a short period of time. ![]() Scholarship at the time suggested that video game addiction was real - but the research was in its infancy. Several years ago, one of her relatives “seemed to be controlled by video games and was having some pretty negative results,” she said. Gaming, she added, “has been important for his emotions and social relationships when he can’t see people face-to-face.”īut after serving as the lead research author on a recent six-year study on video game addiction, she and her fellow researchers at the Church-owned school have concluded that for a “significant minority” of gamers, video-game addiction - a condition where gaming interferes with a person’s ability to function normally - is a troubling fact.Ĭoyne’s initial interest in the potential risks of video games was personal. ![]() “He gets on Fortnite with his friends at night, and he laughs and talks and connects with them - and it makes him happy.” “My 16-year-old son really likes video games,” she told the Church News. In fact, the family life professor has no problem with her own teenager responsibly enjoying video games, especially during the ongoing pandemic when people need some escape and fun. Here’s something to remember about Brigham Young University professor Sarah Coyne before knowing anything else about her research on video-game addiction:
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