The effects of game players’ social intelligence on social support and psychosocial problem factors in a 2-wave longitudinal study

Abstract

Although digital gaming may be considered a social medium, no prior study has investigated how young players’ social intelligence affects their psychosocial problems (aggression, depression, loneliness, and stress) and social functioning (relationships with parents and peers). The primary aim of this study was to investigate the relations between social intelligence and psychosocial outcomes. Using data from 1364 online game players in Korea, we conducted a 2-wave longitudinal study at 6-month intervals for tracking the same person. The findings indicated that level of social intelligence was negatively related with all measures of adverse emotions and positively related with relationships with parents and peers over time. The findings and implications are discussed.