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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Media Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1412739

Gender differences in internet gaming among university students: a discriminant analysis

Provisionally accepted
Júlia Gisbert-Pérez Júlia Gisbert-Pérez 1Manuel Martí-Vilar Manuel Martí-Vilar 1*César Merino-Soto César Merino-Soto 2,3Guillermo M. Chans Guillermo M. Chans 2,4Laura Badenes-Ribera Laura Badenes-Ribera 1
  • 1 University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
  • 2 Institute for the Future of Education, Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM), Monterrey, México, Mexico
  • 3 University of San Martín de Porres, Chiclayo, Peru
  • 4 School of Engineering and Sciences, Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM), Monterrey, Nuevo León4, Mexico

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Research on gaming and gaming habits has predominantly focused on younger populations, particularly males. The main objective of this study was to analyze genderbased differences in gamer profiles, considering variables related to gaming habits and the gaming community. A total of 180 Spanish university students currently engaged in video gaming (M = 21.51 years, SD = 3.09, 57.4% male) participated in the study by completing an online questionnaire addressing gaming characteristics such as the age of onset, gaming hours, motives of gaming, and perceived toxicity in the video gaming community. The results revealed statistically significant gender differences in the age of gaming initiation, weekly gaming hours, community toxicity, and several gaming motivations, including customization, cognitive challenge, violent gratification, and social interaction. Linear discriminant analysis identified that higher scores in the age of initiation and customization, along with lower scores in violent gratification and community toxicity, formed the combination of predictor variables that most strongly distinguished between genders. Understanding these gender differences is essential for capturing current gaming trends and addressing the needs of diverse gamers. Finally, the potential clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

    Keywords: Gaming, gender differences, Gaming motivations, Toxicity, higher education, Educational innovation

    Received: 08 Apr 2024; Accepted: 14 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Gisbert-Pérez, Martí-Vilar, Merino-Soto, Chans and Badenes-Ribera. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Manuel Martí-Vilar, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.