An exploration of what secondary school age girls who play video games think about the relationship between their video gaming and related activities and their wellbeing: An IPA study

Cumberland, Naomi Hannah (2023) An exploration of what secondary school age girls who play video games think about the relationship between their video gaming and related activities and their wellbeing: An IPA study. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

Preview

PDF Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract

Video gaming is popular among children and young people. Once seen as a mainly male hobby, there has been an increase in female gaming, including in the secondary school age population. Much of the literature which explores gaming is male-focused and there has been a tendency to situate gaming within the context of addiction. However, research has shown that girls who game may face different situations to boys which might suggest differences in their wellbeing. Furthermore, there are current concerns about the wellbeing of adolescent girls more broadly. The aim of the current study is to add to the literature in this area by exploring what girls who play video games think about the relationship between their gaming, related activities (for example, watching YouTube videos) and their wellbeing. Six girls were interviewed about their gaming, related activities, and wellbeing, using semi-structured interviews and a visual method. Transcripts were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Four superordinate themes (gaming as a way to connect, levelling up: improvement and achievement, what gaming brings to my life, and making sense of identities in the gaming world) along with nine related subordinate themes were identified. These were linked to wellbeing as a spectrum within domains of Ross et al.’s (2020) framework for adolescent wellbeing. It is hoped that the findings of this study can support those working with secondary school age girls who play video games (and engage in related activities) to gain a more holistic understanding of their wellbeing, and to enable more nuanced understandings and conversations around gaming.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Education and Lifelong Learning
Depositing User:	Chris White
Date Deposited:	28 Sep 2023 07:45
Last Modified:	28 Sep 2023 07:45
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/93115
DOI:

Downloads

Actions (login required)

View Item