Unraveling the antecedents of Internet gaming disorder and mind-wandering as an outcome in MOBA youth players

The exponentially growing game genre - multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) is propelled into the gaming culture. Employing the Interaction-Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model, this study examines the (1) predictive effects of impulsivity on IGD; (2) IGD on mind-wandering, (3) simple...

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Main Authors: Soo Ting T’ng, Khee Hoong Ho, Wen Sam Leong, Poh Chua Siah, Kai Yee Hon, Nurul Iman Abdul Jalil
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-12-01
Series:Cogent Psychology
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Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311908.2025.2475583
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author Soo Ting T’ng
Khee Hoong Ho
Wen Sam Leong
Poh Chua Siah
Kai Yee Hon
Nurul Iman Abdul Jalil
author_facet Soo Ting T’ng
Khee Hoong Ho
Wen Sam Leong
Poh Chua Siah
Kai Yee Hon
Nurul Iman Abdul Jalil
author_sort Soo Ting T’ng
collection DOAJ
description The exponentially growing game genre - multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) is propelled into the gaming culture. Employing the Interaction-Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model, this study examines the (1) predictive effects of impulsivity on IGD; (2) IGD on mind-wandering, (3) simple mediating effects of in-game satisfaction and self-control on impulsivity and IGD respectively, (4) sequential mediating effects (i.e., self-control, in-game satisfaction, IGD) on impulsivity and mind-wandering. 710 youth are included in the final analyses of this cross-sectional online survey study. The findings show that impulsivity predicts IGD positively. IGD is also a positive predictor of mind-wandering. In the simple mediation analyses, in-game satisfaction is not a significant mediator, whereas self-control is a significant mediator for impulsivity and IGD. Both self-control and in-game satisfaction sequentially mediate impulsivity and IGD. Lastly, the indirect effect between impulsivity and mind-wandering with three sequential mediators (i.e., self-control, in-game satisfaction, and IGD) is significant. A total of 41.9% variances of IGD (a large R2 effect size) and 22.2% variances of mind-wandering (a moderate R2 effect size) were explained. Future prevention and intervention should highlight the importance of individuals being empowered to navigate the gaming environment with a well-balanced and resilient mindset, fostering a healthier connection with online gaming.
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spelling doaj-art-fd3d01f7aefb43abad6215480a35f5652025-08-20T03:05:34ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Psychology2331-19082025-12-0112110.1080/23311908.2025.2475583Unraveling the antecedents of Internet gaming disorder and mind-wandering as an outcome in MOBA youth playersSoo Ting T’ng0Khee Hoong Ho1Wen Sam Leong2Poh Chua Siah3Kai Yee Hon4Nurul Iman Abdul Jalil5Department of Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Arts and Social Science (FAS), Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Jalan Universiti, Kampar, Perak, MalaysiaDepartment of Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Arts and Social Science (FAS), Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Jalan Universiti, Kampar, Perak, MalaysiaDepartment of Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Arts and Social Science (FAS), Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Jalan Universiti, Kampar, Perak, MalaysiaDepartment of Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Arts and Social Science (FAS), Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Jalan Universiti, Kampar, Perak, MalaysiaFaculty of Psychology and Education, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, MalaysiaDepartment of Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Arts and Social Science (FAS), Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Jalan Universiti, Kampar, Perak, MalaysiaThe exponentially growing game genre - multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) is propelled into the gaming culture. Employing the Interaction-Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model, this study examines the (1) predictive effects of impulsivity on IGD; (2) IGD on mind-wandering, (3) simple mediating effects of in-game satisfaction and self-control on impulsivity and IGD respectively, (4) sequential mediating effects (i.e., self-control, in-game satisfaction, IGD) on impulsivity and mind-wandering. 710 youth are included in the final analyses of this cross-sectional online survey study. The findings show that impulsivity predicts IGD positively. IGD is also a positive predictor of mind-wandering. In the simple mediation analyses, in-game satisfaction is not a significant mediator, whereas self-control is a significant mediator for impulsivity and IGD. Both self-control and in-game satisfaction sequentially mediate impulsivity and IGD. Lastly, the indirect effect between impulsivity and mind-wandering with three sequential mediators (i.e., self-control, in-game satisfaction, and IGD) is significant. A total of 41.9% variances of IGD (a large R2 effect size) and 22.2% variances of mind-wandering (a moderate R2 effect size) were explained. Future prevention and intervention should highlight the importance of individuals being empowered to navigate the gaming environment with a well-balanced and resilient mindset, fostering a healthier connection with online gaming.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311908.2025.2475583MOBA genreimpulsivityself-controlin-game satisfactionIGDmind-wandering
spellingShingle Soo Ting T’ng
Khee Hoong Ho
Wen Sam Leong
Poh Chua Siah
Kai Yee Hon
Nurul Iman Abdul Jalil
Unraveling the antecedents of Internet gaming disorder and mind-wandering as an outcome in MOBA youth players
Cogent Psychology
MOBA genre
impulsivity
self-control
in-game satisfaction
IGD
mind-wandering
title Unraveling the antecedents of Internet gaming disorder and mind-wandering as an outcome in MOBA youth players
title_full Unraveling the antecedents of Internet gaming disorder and mind-wandering as an outcome in MOBA youth players
title_fullStr Unraveling the antecedents of Internet gaming disorder and mind-wandering as an outcome in MOBA youth players
title_full_unstemmed Unraveling the antecedents of Internet gaming disorder and mind-wandering as an outcome in MOBA youth players
title_short Unraveling the antecedents of Internet gaming disorder and mind-wandering as an outcome in MOBA youth players
title_sort unraveling the antecedents of internet gaming disorder and mind wandering as an outcome in moba youth players
topic MOBA genre
impulsivity
self-control
in-game satisfaction
IGD
mind-wandering
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311908.2025.2475583
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