Four psychological profiles of gamers revealed regarding their mental health and personality
Gamers have different ways of playing games, some enjoy party games with friends, others like to play games that challenge their limits. The survey found four types of gamers in terms of their mental health and personality.
Profiling gamers: The role of mental health, attachment and social factors in gaming behaviors - ScienceDirect
New study reveals four psychological profiles of gamers linked to mental health and attachment styles
https://www.psypost.org/new-study-reveals-four-psychological-profiles-of-gamers-linked-to-mental-health-and-attachment-styles/
Katia Martins Castro, a psychologist at the Portuguese research institute ISPA – Instituto Universitário, and her team conducted an online survey of 5,255 gamers aged 16 to 69 from 112 countries to investigate their gaming habits, motivations for gaming, social connections, substance use, and attachment style , which is a pattern of how people relate to others.
The research team then analyzed the psychological characteristics of gamers from three perspectives: 'the impact of gaming on mental health and well-being,' 'interpersonal relationships and social interactions,' and 'gaming-related characteristics such as time spent gaming and types of social media used.' They then categorized the gamers into the following four types.
◆1: Evasive profile
This group of gamers was generally older and tended to report lower levels of psychological stress. They also had a secure attachment style and preferred offline social interactions. Their gaming interests centered on personal exploration, independence, and entertainment rather than social connections. This profile also engaged in low levels of substance use and rarely used social media for gaming-related communication.
◆2: Participatory Profile
The participative profile was the largest of the four, and had good emotion regulation and a secure attachment style. It also shared some commonalities with the avoidant profile, such as lower levels of mental stress and less substance use. However, this group was more proactive in connecting with gaming communities and often interacted with others using platforms such as Discord, Twitch, and Instagram. This group also typically played games on smartphones. Although they rarely played online games, they built strong relationships offline.
◆3: Relationship-oriented profile
This group had some difficulties regulating their emotions and tended to avoid deep relationships with others. They were more likely to play games to strengthen their social connections and identity, but had few offline social interactions. They also had more difficulties in their lives and were more likely to use drugs and engage in high-risk behaviors, but they were less likely to report visible mental stress. They preferred immersive and social games, and often used platforms such as Steam and Twitch.
◆4: Emotional regulation difficulties (irregular type) profile
This group consisted of young gamers who had the highest levels of emotional distress and had difficulty regulating their emotions in various situations. They were anxious about forming deep relationships with others, feared abandonment, and wanted to distance themselves from others, and tended to have great difficulties in relationships in general. They were also more likely to use tobacco and energy drinks, and showed signs of behavioral dysregulation, including self-harm and violence towards others. Although they often played games alone or with online friends, they often interacted with gamers across multiple social networking sites, including Discord, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram. Reasons for gaming were particularly well associated with identity, escapism, skill development, social connections, and monetary incentives.
The research team reported that gamers with an irregular profile are at highest risk of developing 'gaming disorder,' or gaming addiction.
'Gaming disorder,' in which people play games so much that it interferes with their daily lives, is classified as a disease - GIGAZINE
The characteristics of each profile can be roughly summarized as follows:
| Profile | Age group | Emotional control level | Attachment patterns | Stress levels | Drug Use Trends | Offline Exchange | Online Exchange | Objective of the game | Social Media | Gaming disorder risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| avoidance type | High | Good | stable type | low | low | many | few | Self-exploration, independence, entertainment, etc. | Rarely used | - |
| Participatory | - | Good | stable type | low | low | many | many | Community participation, entertainment, etc. | Discord, Twitch, Instagram | - |
| Relationship-oriented | - | difficulty | avoidance type | Rarely put on display | High | few | many | Social connections, identity, etc. | Steam/Twitch | can be |
| irregular type | younger | Very difficult | Anxious/avoidant type | expensive | expensive | few | many | Identity, escapism, skills, social connections, money, etc. | Discord・X・Instagram | expensive |
In particular, the research team was surprised to find that 'avoidant gamers tend to prefer single-player games, but have more stable attachment patterns. They were also surprised to find that the indisposed profile was associated with relationship difficulties, especially insecure attachment patterns, and a tendency to use drugs.
Across the study, gamers' personality traits were found to be shaped by age, emotion regulation, mental health, and online and offline interaction patterns. For example, gamers in the irregular profile exhibited a combination of psychological fragility and intense participation in online games and social platforms, which the researchers believe 'may reflect maladaptive coping strategies.' In contrast, those in the avoidant and participating profiles had relatively healthy interactions with recreational gaming, lower stress levels, and stronger offline connections.
'One key takeaway is that non-problematic gaming behavior can be associated with groups that have healthy emotional and social connections, while problematic gaming behavior is often accompanied by relationship difficulties, such as insecure attachment patterns - a fear of abandonment - and avoidant attachment patterns - aversion to intimacy,' said David Diaz Neto, co-author of the study.