The Link Between Gaming and Suicide in Japan
Gaming and suicide are two things Japan is known for. But is there a connection between the two? Does gaming increase the risk for suicide or even help decrease it? Here's a study that examined the question.
• Previous studies have shown a link between the time spent playing and suicidal ideation and suicide attempts.
• Japanese adults in their twenties and thirties play video games the most and are also a vulnerable group for suicide attempts.
• The frequency of playing video games was not correlated with SI (suicidal ideation) and SA (suicide attempts), but gaming addiction was.
• Those who are addicted to gaming had higher depression scores and a higher capability for suicide.
• GA (gaming addiction) may elevate SI only when people have a high level of depression.
In Japan, over 50% of men and women in their teens, twenties, and thirties play video games on a regular basis. With such a high number, problems related to developing a game addiction (GA) have become a focus of research. Some studies have shown that aggression, loneliness, life satisfaction, and anxiety are factors that influence game addiction.
Furthermore, several studies reported the amount of time spent playing predicted suicidal ideation (SI) and suicide attempts (SA). In a similar fashion, GA seems to be correlated with suicide tendency in college students. Pretty grim results so far, right? Well, there is more. The frequency of video game play and exposure to violent games were significantly associated with ACS in multiple studies. ACS is a person's physical and mental capacity to execute a suicide, which is increased by having experiences with pain and death.
Although suicide rates in Japan have declined in recent years yet, there seems to be a slight uptick again, making it a pressing issue. In addition, those in their 20s and 30s play a lot of video games and are at high risk of attempting suicide. Therefore, the current study explored the relationship between gaming and suicide risk among Japanese young adults. Specifically, whether game addiction (GA) explains suicide risk.
The researchers used data from 310 game players (only a few of them were at risk of attempting suicide) in their 20s and 30s.
🗡️ Committing Sudoku
"A correlation analysis revealed that the frequency of game play was not significantly associated with SI or SA." [1]
However, they found a significant correlation between gaming addiction (GA) and suicidal ideation (SI), but not suicide attempt (SA). GA and ACS (physical and mental capacity to attempt suicide), and GA and depression were positively correlated. In short, those who are addicted to gaming had higher depression scores and a higher capability for suicide. Lastly, "participants who engaged in action and adventure games were more addicted to games than those who played games in other genres." [1]
On the bright side, the study didn't find a significant association between violent gameplay and SI, SA, or ACS. So my fellow Counter-Strike, MMOG, Fortnite, etc. players don't have to worry.
Now, back to some negative results again (I'm going for a bad-good-bad sandwich). Game addiction and depression were significantly linked, and depression explained suicidal ideation (SI). In this sense, GA may elevate SI only when people have a high level of depression.
One last result that I think is noteworthy. There was an SI x ACS interaction that was negatively significant and predicted SA. This means that time spent playing impacts the link between SI, ACS, and SA. It is possible that spending more time playing influences the idea of suicide and suicide attempts, because video games distract a person or provide social connections (playing with friends).
Enjoy the rest of your week. Best,
Christian 🙂
