Video Game Play and Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Meta-Analysis of Global Findings (preprint)

During the COVID-19 pandemic, video gaming was often suggested as a way to help maintain physical distancing by encouraging people to stay indoors and play games instead of seeking social activities. However, there was concern about whether the increased time spent on video gaming could negatively affect players' mental health. In our meta-analysis, we synthesized studies to quantify changes in gaming time during the pandemic and examine its association with positive and negative mental health metrics. We searched databases for studies published from March 2020 to December 2021 reporting gaming time and mental health positive (e.g., happiness, positive affect, relaxation) or negative (e.g., depression, anxiety, stress, loneliness, anger) indicators during the pandemic. We employed random effects meta-analyses with robust variance estimates. We accounted for potential moderators (e.g., world region). In 17 studies (26 effects, n = 18026), we found a small increase in time spent gaming during the pandemic versus pre-pandemic, d = 0.26, 95% CI [0.14, 0.37], p = .0004). In 22 studies (100 effects, n = 19752), gaming time was not associated with mental health (r = -0.03, 95% CI [-0.08, 0.02], p = .22), regardless of whether it was for well-being or ill-being measures. Moderator analyses indicated negligible differences across study characteristics (d< 0.20). These findings challenge the simplistic view that more gaming time automatically leads to worse (or better) mental health during pandemics. They provide important insights for researchers, policymakers, educators, and caregivers about the role of digital technologies in easing the impact of pandemics and lockdowns. This research is vital for developing evidence-based public health policies and recommendations regarding video gaming in the event of future pandemics and lockdowns.

Changes in values and well-being amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland (preprint)

COVID-19 caused a global change in the lifestyles of people around the world. It provided a unique opportunity to examine how external circumstances impact two crucial aspects of functioning relating to “who I am” (values) and “how I feel” (well-being). Participants (N = 150) reported their values, subjective and eduaimonic well-being nine months before lockdown in Poland, two weeks and four weeks into lockdown. We observed significant changes in values: an increase in self-direction, achievement, security, conformity, humility, benevolence and universalism, and a decrease in hedonism. All well-being indices showed a decrease in well-being with one specific difference between men and women: women experienced a more significant increase of negative affect compared to men. Finally, we showed that Openness to change values predict lower negative affect and higher eudaimonic well-being two weeks into lockdown. This study is unique in that it shows, that well-being and individually held values are flexible and adaptive systems that react to external circumstances, such as global critical events.