Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Amber Clayton

Abstract

The video game industry has had a long-standing effect on players for decades. With the introduction of the Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Play Game (MMORPG) genre, gamers’ social world had changed drastically with the ability to communicate with players around the globe. Many social scientists have begun studying the effects on the MMORPG genre with social functioning and overall well-being in players (Colwell et al., 1995). The purpose of this thesis was to explore players who partook in MMORPGs and see if these online games affected their well-being and social support. The obtained results (N = 113) found that MMORPG gameplay duration was negatively associated with well-being and that well-being was positively associated with perceived online social support, both which are consistent with previous literature (Martončik & Lokša, 2016). Further, social support did not moderate the relationship between duration of gameplay and psychological and psychosocial well-being. Implications, limitations, and where further research can be implemented are discussed in this thesis.

Year manuscript completed

2023

Year degree awarded

2023

Author's Keywords

Social Support, Well-Being, Video Game, MMORPG, Psychological, Psychosocial

Thesis Advisor

Michael Bordieri

Committee Chair

Michael Bordieri

Committee Member

Patrick Cushen

Committee Member

Laura Liljequist

Committee Member

Angie Trzepacz

Document Type

Thesis

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