Are video games and school conflictual or complementary contexts for affording psychological need fulfillment? Implications for adolescents' problematic gaming and school adjustment
- Author
- Lowie Bradt (UGent) , Branko Vermote (UGent) , Bieke Zaman, Maarten Vansteenkiste (UGent) , Marlies Van de Casteele (UGent) and Bart Soenens (UGent)
- Organization
- Project
- Abstract
- According to the need density hypothesis, adolescents are at risk for problematic gaming when they only experience satisfaction of their basic psychological needs within, but not outside, the gaming context. This cross-sectional study among daily gamers (N = 309, M age = 15.63, 94.8% boys) is the first to examine this hypothesis in adolescence, thereby comparing adolescents' need fulfillment between the contexts of video games and school and examining the role of need fulfilment in both contexts in relation to problematic gaming and school outcomes. Response surface analysis showed that adolescents' overall need satisfaction (across the two contexts) was related to lower problematic gaming and less maladaptive school outcomes. Consistent with the need density hypothesis, adolescents reported more problematic gaming, school disengagement and school burnout when high need satisfaction in the gaming context co-occurred with either low need satisfaction or high need frustration at school. Directions for future research are discussed.
- Keywords
- SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY, AUTONOMY SUPPORT, MEDIA ENJOYMENT, SATISFACTION, ENGAGEMENT, EXPERIENCES, SIMILARITY, ADDICTION, BURNOUT, PULL, self-determination theory, psychological needs, need density hypothesis, adolescence, school, video gaming
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Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-01KA11Z0KWQN4HQ1RGBATNPDYQ
- MLA
- Bradt, Lowie, et al. “Are Video Games and School Conflictual or Complementary Contexts for Affording Psychological Need Fulfillment? Implications for Adolescents’ Problematic Gaming and School Adjustment.” INTERACTING WITH COMPUTERS, vol. 38, no. 3, 2026, pp. 419–32, doi:10.1093/iwc/iwae020.
- APA
- Bradt, L., Vermote, B., Zaman, B., Vansteenkiste, M., Van de Casteele, M., & Soenens, B. (2026). Are video games and school conflictual or complementary contexts for affording psychological need fulfillment? Implications for adolescents’ problematic gaming and school adjustment. INTERACTING WITH COMPUTERS, 38(3), 419–432. https://doi.org/10.1093/iwc/iwae020
- Chicago author-date
- Bradt, Lowie, Branko Vermote, Bieke Zaman, Maarten Vansteenkiste, Marlies Van de Casteele, and Bart Soenens. 2026. “Are Video Games and School Conflictual or Complementary Contexts for Affording Psychological Need Fulfillment? Implications for Adolescents’ Problematic Gaming and School Adjustment.” INTERACTING WITH COMPUTERS 38 (3): 419–32. https://doi.org/10.1093/iwc/iwae020.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Bradt, Lowie, Branko Vermote, Bieke Zaman, Maarten Vansteenkiste, Marlies Van de Casteele, and Bart Soenens. 2026. “Are Video Games and School Conflictual or Complementary Contexts for Affording Psychological Need Fulfillment? Implications for Adolescents’ Problematic Gaming and School Adjustment.” INTERACTING WITH COMPUTERS 38 (3): 419–432. doi:10.1093/iwc/iwae020.
- Vancouver
- 1.Bradt L, Vermote B, Zaman B, Vansteenkiste M, Van de Casteele M, Soenens B. Are video games and school conflictual or complementary contexts for affording psychological need fulfillment? Implications for adolescents’ problematic gaming and school adjustment. INTERACTING WITH COMPUTERS. 2026;38(3):419–32.
- IEEE
- [1]L. Bradt, B. Vermote, B. Zaman, M. Vansteenkiste, M. Van de Casteele, and B. Soenens, “Are video games and school conflictual or complementary contexts for affording psychological need fulfillment? Implications for adolescents’ problematic gaming and school adjustment,” INTERACTING WITH COMPUTERS, vol. 38, no. 3, pp. 419–432, 2026.
@article{01KA11Z0KWQN4HQ1RGBATNPDYQ,
abstract = {{According to the need density hypothesis, adolescents are at risk for problematic gaming when they only experience satisfaction of their basic psychological needs within, but not outside, the gaming context. This cross-sectional study among daily gamers (N = 309, M age = 15.63, 94.8% boys) is the first to examine this hypothesis in adolescence, thereby comparing adolescents' need fulfillment between the contexts of video games and school and examining the role of need fulfilment in both contexts in relation to problematic gaming and school outcomes. Response surface analysis showed that adolescents' overall need satisfaction (across the two contexts) was related to lower problematic gaming and less maladaptive school outcomes. Consistent with the need density hypothesis, adolescents reported more problematic gaming, school disengagement and school burnout when high need satisfaction in the gaming context co-occurred with either low need satisfaction or high need frustration at school. Directions for future research are discussed.}},
author = {{Bradt, Lowie and Vermote, Branko and Zaman, Bieke and Vansteenkiste, Maarten and Van de Casteele, Marlies and Soenens, Bart}},
issn = {{0953-5438}},
journal = {{INTERACTING WITH COMPUTERS}},
keywords = {{SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY,AUTONOMY SUPPORT,MEDIA ENJOYMENT,SATISFACTION,ENGAGEMENT,EXPERIENCES,SIMILARITY,ADDICTION,BURNOUT,PULL,self-determination theory,psychological needs,need density hypothesis,adolescence,school,video gaming}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{3}},
pages = {{419--432}},
title = {{Are video games and school conflictual or complementary contexts for affording psychological need fulfillment? Implications for adolescents' problematic gaming and school adjustment}},
url = {{http://doi.org/10.1093/iwc/iwae020}},
volume = {{38}},
year = {{2026}},
}
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