Dependence on video games in secondary school students in the Peruvian Amazon

Abstract

Dependence on video games implies a pattern of behavior that people have characterized by poor control of said practice, as well as the priority given to it over other activities, to the point of neglecting domestic or academic responsibilities despite knowing the negative consequences it could cause. In this sense, the objective of this research was to analyze the dependence on video games in secondary school students in the Peruvian Amazon. The approach was quantitative, the design was non-experimental, and the type was cross-sectional descriptive. The sample consisted of 356 students to whom the Video Game Dependence Test was applied, an instrument with adequate psychometric properties (validity based on content and reliability). According to the results, 43.5% of the students had low levels of dependence on video games, 37.4% had moderate levels and 19.1% had high levels. Similarly, it was determined that some sociodemographic variables such as gender and the number of hours per day spent playing video games were significantly associated with such dependence It was concluded that the students were characterized by showing low levels of dependence on video games, however, it is necessary to carry out preventive measures, such as making the potentially vulnerable population (adolescents and young people) aware of the risk of playing video games in an uncontrolled manner, and corrective measures, such as the identification of dependent persons and the development of intervention programs.