Online Game Addiction among Adolescents: Motivation and prevention Factors Online Game Addiction among Adolescents: Motivation and Prevention Factors ABSTRACT ndividuals and societies. In this study we rely on the functionalist perspective ofh behavior and propose and test a balanced model of the antecedents of online game addiction among adolescents, which simultaneously focuses on moti revention and harm reduction forces. First, a pilot survey of 163 adolescents was used for validating and refining a instrument. Second, formal survey data c from 623 adolescents were analyzed with Partial Least Squares techniques. The findings point to several functional needs (eg-, need for relationship and need for drive online game playing and addiction, as well as to several prevention and harm reduction factors(e.g, education, attention switching activities)that reduce game nd alleviate online game addiction. The effects of motivation and prevention factors on online game addiction are partially mediated by online game playing. Implic d practice are discussed Keywords: Addiction, technology addiction, computer games, motivation, prevention, harm reduction. INTRODUCTION The driving forces behind individuals'informed decisions to keep on using information technologies(IT) have been widely studied in the MIS literature(Bhatta al., 2008; Kim, 2009). The basic assumptions of such studies were that information systems are beneficial in terms of hedonic or utilitarian gains, and that people are decision makers. However, information systems are not always beneficial, and users may develop distorted rationales(turel et al, Forthcoming). When being used in lay also have negative impact on individuals as well as on the society(Block, 2008). One such potential negative outcome is technology addictio Building on the definition of drug addiction( Robinson Berridge, 2003), technology addiction is defined as a users psychological state of dependency on the I manifested through the compulsive pattern of IT-seeking and IT-use behaviors that take place at the expense of other important activities. This phenomenon has bee in numerous IT contexts, including, for example, online video games( Charlton Danforth, 2007), mobile email (turel Serenko, 2010), and online gambling(Mch erevensky, 2009). It is imperative to study these addictions because they can negatively influence many facets of life, including personal, school, social, financial, ar relationship aspects(Billieux et al., 2008; Caplan, 2002; Turel Serenko, 2010) One of the prominent and worrisome technology related addictions is online game addiction( Charlton Danforth, 2010; Huh Bowman, 2008). Building on c definition of general technology addictions, online game addiction is defined as a state of dependency on online games which is manifested through the compulsive p eking and use behaviors that take place at the expense of other important activities. Online video games have become a popular form of electronic entertainment, es among children and adolescents( Choi Kim, 2004; Griffiths et al., 2003; Griffiths et al., 2004). While not all online games are addictive or harmful, some games, EverQuest", and the"Dark Age of Camelot", and many massively multiplayer online games can be addiction- prone due to their interactive and collaborative/compet Barnett Coulson, 2010; Liu& Peng, 2009). These features give such games a social aspect which may be missing from offline activities, and make it difficult to st (Young, 2010b). As such, excessive use of online video games and addiction to them have become common, and may result in many negative psychological and phys damages, including social isolation, suicide, lack of sleep, hypertension, and death(Bruner Bruner, 2006). These phenomena may be more prevalent among adoles group which tends to engage in more risk behaviors than adults(Nelson et al., 1997; Quadrel et al, 1993), including in the context of video games(Anderson et al., 2 In this study we therefore focus on online game addiction, and try to explain its formation among adolescents. By understanding the antecedents of this psycholo better prevention and intervention techniques can be developed. This also represents a gap in the literature that we intend to fill. Specifically, much research so far has devoted to the drivers of online game playing( Choi& Kim, 2004; Yee, 2006), but these antecedents may have different roles in forming addictions. Other studies dea efinition and measurement of online game addiction(e.g, Byun et al, 2009, Charlton& Danforth, 2007), but only a limited set of potential correlates with online ga diction have been identified(e. g, Charlton Danforth, 2010; Huh& Bowman, 2008) To advance our understanding of the formation of online game addiction among adolescents, a model explicating the links between two families of predictors an phenomenon is proposed. We take the functionalist approach(Katz, 1960, Smith et al., 1956), and build on research on game playing motivations(Yee, 2006), in chor nore holistic view of the phenomenon we study. After all, game players are often exposed simultaneously to both types of factors(e. g, a social need that drives them mbined with parental monitoring that inhibits playing)Online Game Addiction among Adolescents: Motivation and Prevention Factors Online Game Addiction among Adolescents: Motivation and Prevention Factors ABSTRACT Online game addiction has become a common phenomenon that affects many individuals and societies. In this study we rely on the functionalist perspective of h behavior and propose and test a balanced model of the antecedents of online game addiction among adolescents, which simultaneously focuses on motivating forces, prevention and harm reduction forces. First, a pilot survey of 163 adolescents was used for validating and refining a survey instrument. Second, formal survey data c from 623 adolescents were analyzed with Partial Least Squares techniques. The findings point to several functional needs (e.g., need for relationship and need for esc drive online game playing and addiction, as well as to several prevention and harm reduction factors (e.g., education, attention switching activities) that reduce game and alleviate online game addiction. The effects of motivation and prevention factors on online game addiction are partially mediated by online game playing. Implic research and practice are discussed. Keywords : Addiction, technology addiction, computer games, motivation, prevention, harm reduction. INTRODUCTION The driving forces behind individuals’ informed decisions to keep on using information technologies (IT) have been widely studied in the MIS literature (Bhatta al., 2008; Kim, 2009). The basic assumptions of such studies were that information systems are beneficial in terms of hedonic or utilitarian gains, and that people are decision makers. However, information systems are not always beneficial, and users may develop distorted rationales (Turel et al., Forthcoming). When being used im may also have negative impact on individuals as well as on the society (Block, 2008). One such potential negative outcome is technology addiction. Building on the definition of drug addiction (Robinson & Berridge, 2003), technology addiction is defined as a user’s psychological state of dependency on the I is manifested through the compulsive pattern of IT-seeking and IT-use behaviors that take place at the expense of other important activities. This phenomenon has bee in numerous IT contexts, including, for example, online video games (Charlton & Danforth, 2007), mobile email (Turel & Serenko, 2010), and online gambling (McB Derevensky, 2009). It is imperative to study these addictions because they can negatively influence many facets of life, including personal, school, social, financial, an relationship aspects (Billieux et al., 2008; Caplan, 2002; Turel & Serenko, 2010). One of the prominent and worrisome technology related addictions is online game addiction (Charlton & Danforth, 2010; Huh & Bowman, 2008). Building on o definition of general technology addictions, online game addiction is defined as a state of dependency on online games which is manifested through the compulsive p seeking and use behaviors that take place at the expense of other important activities. Online video games have become a popular form of electronic entertainment, es among children and adolescents (Choi & Kim, 2004; Griffiths et al., 2003; Griffiths et al., 2004). While not all online games are addictive or harmful, some games, su “EverQuest”, and the “Dark Age of Camelot”, and many massively multiplayer online games can be addiction-prone due to their interactive and collaborative/compet (Barnett & Coulson, 2010; Liu & Peng, 2009). These features give such games a social aspect which may be missing from offline activities, and make it difficult to st (Young, 2010b). As such, excessive use of online video games and addiction to them have become common, and may result in many negative psychological and phys damages, including social isolation, suicide, lack of sleep, hypertension, and death (Bruner & Bruner, 2006). These phenomena may be more prevalent among adolesc group which tends to engage in more risk behaviors than adults (Nelson et al., 1997; Quadrel et al., 1993), including in the context of video games (Anderson et al., 2 In this study we therefore focus on online game addiction, and try to explain its formation among adolescents. By understanding the antecedents of this psycholo better prevention and intervention techniques can be developed. This also represents a gap in the literature that we intend to fill. Specifically, much research so far has devoted to the drivers of online game playing (Choi & Kim, 2004; Yee, 2006), but these antecedents may have different roles in forming addictions. Other studies dea definition and measurement of online game addiction (e.g., Byun et al., 2009; Charlton & Danforth, 2007), but only a limited set of potential correlates with online ga addiction have been identified (e.g., Charlton & Danforth, 2010; Huh & Bowman, 2008). To advance our understanding of the formation of online game addiction among adolescents, a model explicating the links between two families of predictors an phenomenon is proposed. We take the functionalist approach (Katz, 1960; Smith et al., 1956), and build on research on game playing motivations (Yee, 2006), in chor research on problematic behavior prevention (Dickson et al., 2002; van Hamel et al., 2007). The joint focus on motivating and preventing factors is advantageous as i more holistic view of the phenomenon we study. After all, game players are often exposed simultaneously to both types of factors (e.g., a social need that drives them combined with parental monitoring that inhibits playing)