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Exploring the relationships between psychological variables and loot box engagement, part 2: exploratory analyses of complex relationships
Spicer, Stuart Gordon Close, James Whalley, Ben Parke, Jonathan Lloyd, Helen
Spicer, Stuart Gordon
Close, James
Whalley, Ben
Parke, Jonathan
Lloyd, Helen
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2024-01-03
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Abstract
In a pre-registered survey linked to this paper (Exploring the relationships between psychological variables and loot box engagement, part 1: pre-registered hypotheses), we confirmed bivariate associations between engagement with loot boxes (purchasable randomized rewards in video games) and measures of problem gambling, problem video gaming, impulsivity, gambling cognitions, experiences of game-related 'flow', psychological distress and reduced wellbeing. However, these variables have complex relationships, so to gain further insights, we analysed the dataset (1495 gamers who purchase loot boxes and 1223 purchasers of non-randomized content) in a series of Bayesian mixed-effects multiple regressions with a zero-inflation component. The results challenge some well-established results in the literature, including associations between loot box engagement and problematic gambling measures, instead suggesting that this relationship might be underpinned by shared variance with problem video gaming and gambling-related cognitions. An entirely novel discovery revealed a complex interaction between experiences of flow and loot box engagement. Distress and wellbeing are both (somewhat contradictorily) predictive of participants engaging with loot boxes, but neither correlate with increasing loot box risky engagement/spend (among those who engage). Our findings unravel some of the nuances underpinning loot box engagement, yet remain consistent with narratives that policy action on loot boxes will have benefits for harm minimization.
Citation
Spicer, S.G., Close, J. Nicklin, L.L., Uther, M., Whalley, B., Fullwood, C., Parke, J., Lloyd, J. and Lloyd, H. (2024) Exploring the relationships between psychological variables and loot box engagement, part 2: exploratory analyses of complex relationships. Royal Society Open Science. 11231046 http://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.231046
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38179078 (pubmed)
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Journal article
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en
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© 2024 The Authors. Published by The Royal Society. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.231046
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ISSN
2054-5703
EISSN
2054-5703
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This work was supported by funding from the charity GambleAware. S.G.S. was additionally supported by the National Institute for Health Research Applied Research Collaboration South West Peninsula.
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Licence for published version: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International