Abstract

Adolescents, especially middle school students, are considered a vulnerable group who are at higher risk of game over-dependence. This study aimed to examine the effect of the variety of gaming devices on game over-dependence and to test the moderated mediating effect of gaming time and gender in this relationship. For this purpose, we used data from self-reported questionnaires that evaluate the type of devices used to play games, and measure the average daily time spent on games, and the severity of game over-dependence among 9,336 second-year middle school students(4,796 males, 4,540 females), who participated in public service. The results of analysis using PROCESS macro indicated that the mediation effect of time spent on games in the association between the variety of gaming devices and game over-dependence, and the moderation effect of gender on these association were both significant. Specifically, the indirect effect of gaming device variety was significant in both male and female students, but was stronger for female students. These findings suggest that using more types of gaming devices can be a risk factor for game over-dependence as it allows heightened accessibility to games subsequently leading to excessive playing time, particularly among the female students. Based on these findings, theoretical and practical implications, and the limitations of this study are discussed.