PREVALENCE AND FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH GAMING ADDICTION AMONG UNDERGRADUATES IN IBADAN

Abstract

Gaming addiction has become of significant health concern globally among children, youths and adults. The continuous rise in the number of internet subscribers and mobile phone users has played a major role in the recent upsurge in numbers of gamers globally. The past decades have seen evolution of gaming industries, and this has significantly contributed to making the gaming market one of the biggest market in the world. Despite its growth, several health concerns such as compulsive behaviors, mental health issues and physical health problems that have been linked to gaming have raised serious concerns. The presence of gaming addiction in Nigeria universities among undergraduates has been under research, because the gaming communities in the country has always seen the fun side of game and many don’t belief it could pose any serious issue. This study determined the prevalence and factors associated with gaming addiction among undergraduates in the University of Ibadan. Using analytical cross-sectional study design and a multistage sampling technique, a sample size of 484 students were randomly selected from twenty five departments in the University of Ibadan. A pretested self-administered questionnaire was used to elucidate information on prevalence of gamming addiction, pattern of gaming, gaming tools, gaming types and factors that are associated with gaming addiction among the selected students. The data collection was completed within three weeks and analyzed. Descriptive statistics, chi-square test and logistic regression were carried out to determine the prevalence of gaming addiction and identify factors associated with gaming addiction. Level of significance set at 5% (P < 0.05) and confidence at 95% (C.I – 95%), The mean age of the respondents was 20.59 (SD = 2.49) and 62.7% were males. Majority of the respondents (78.1%) reported playing games while the prevalence of gaming addiction was 15.3%. Although, the average hours spent on gaming per week by students classified as gamers was 10 hours, a high number of the addicted gamers (81.1%) spent more than 10 hours playing games per week. Chi square analysis to determine the factors associated with gaming addiction showed that gender, marital status of parent, academic performance, time spent playing games a day, time spent playing games in a week, depression, anxiety and sleep deprivation were significantly associated with gaming addiction ( χ2 [28.954], P < 0.0001, χ2 [6.479], P = 0.039, χ2 [13.705], P = 0.001, χ2 [121.681], P < 0.0001, χ2 [139.590], P < 0.0001, χ2 [25.349], P < 0.0001, χ2 [14.982], P = 0.001, χ2 [7.749], P = 0.005). The risk of gaming addiction was significantly higher among males than females (OR 3.16 [1.02 – 9.80], P = 0.047). Binary logistic regression analysis also showed that marital status of parents, time spent gaming in a day and time spent playing games in a week (OR 5.9 [1.28 - 23.9], P = 0.022, OR 4.45 [1.87 – 10.6], P = 0.001 and OR 10.9 [4.33 – 27.9], P < 0.0001) were likely predictors of gaming addiction. Severe depression, and borderline anxiety were also significantly associated with gaming addiction (OR 4.78 [1.42 – 16.1], P = 0.012, OR 4.61 [1.68 – 12.7], P = 0.003). The results provide information on gaming and gaming addiction among young people. Likewise, it shows the need for effective educational programmes that will create more awareness on the health issues associated with gaming addiction and preventive strategies that will help to reduce the time spent on gaming among students.