Impact of video game addiction in adolescents: differences according to gender, school attendance and academic performance

Abstract

Introduction: Technological development has increased early access to games and the Internet, leading to a rise in video game addiction disorders, which in turn affects school attendance and academic performance. The aim of this study is to analyze the differences in video game addiction in terms of gender, school absenteeism, and the latest evaluation report. Methodology: In a sample of 641 adolescents, the Game Addiction Scale for Adolescents (GASA) was applied to analyse the differences by means of ANOVA, Student's t-test and post hoc. Results: According to the results, boys, students with a higher number of absences and a higher number of failures scored significantly higher on the GASA. Discussions: Hypotheses regarding gender, absenteeism and last evaluation report were confirmed, in line with previous studies. Conclusions: It reflects on the possible role of schools in order to promote a healthy use of schools and to take advantage of their benefits.