Preparing for the launching of Esports: An interdisciplinary and holistic perspective in prevention of teenage gaming addiction problem based on Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological model in the era of Esports
Project title
Preparing for the launching of Esports: An interdisciplinary and holistic perspective in prevention of teenage gaming addiction problem based on Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological model in the era of Esports
Principal Investigator
Department
Grant Awarding Body
Research Grants Council
Grant Type
Institutional Development Scheme (IDS) Collaborative Research Grant
Project Code
UGC/IDS(C)15/M01/20
Amount awarded
HK$4,260,824
Funding Year
2020-2021
Status
Completed
Abstract
This research project aims at investigating the possibility of employing Urie Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model (1977, 1979) for the holistic analysis of gaming addiction and the development of a prevention programme in the context of burgeoning esports culture, supported by the massive promotion of e-entertainment and e-gaming entrepreneurs and the influence of a newly-evolved community of Key-Opinion Leaders (KOL). Existing models for gaming addiction include Kimberly Young’s model for Internet Addiction (Young, 1996, 2004) which focuses on personal aspects such as a preoccupation with the internet, loss of control, a resistance to cutting down on internet use, the jeopardizing or risking the loss of important aspects in life and using virtual reality as a form of escapism, Mark Griffiths’ model that aims at providing a more specific diagnosis of gaming addiction that makes a distinction between professional involvement in e-sports (e.g. Griffiths et al., 2016, Griffiths, 2019) and the current diagnostic criteria for Gaming Disorder and Hazardous Gaming from the World Health Organization 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) (World Health Organization, 2018). This study intends to extend the scope of analysis by adopting the holistic bioecological model (Bronfenbrenner, 1977, 1979) that emphasizes the need for ground work that analyses the interaction between various levels including the micro-level (neurological, physiological and motivational aspects), the meso-exo level (the meso-level mainly focuses on those who are in direct contact with the subject, for example, family, school and service providers; while the exo-level refers to stakeholders that are not directly related to the subject, but are exerting an indirect influence on them, for example, stakeholders in entertainment, e-gaming and e-sports), and the macro-chrono level (the macro-level is more concerned with policy and culture from a geographical perspective, while the chrono-level is concerned with historical-cultural changes over time). By analyzing e-gaming and esports according to Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model, a holistic intervention programme that integrates intervention at various levels could be developed. This study is divided into three phases, namely the Problem Identification Phase (meta-analysis of existing literature on gaming, e-gaming, e-entertainment, e-sports, internet addiction, internet gaming addiction, and prevention; and experiments on micro-level variables including in the neurological, physiological and motivational domains), the Programme Development Phase (interviewing various stakeholders related to the meso-; exo-; and marco-levels; and discourse analysis of macro- and chrono-level trends), and the Implementation-Evaluation Phase (provision of preventive programmes for e-gaming addiction for secondary school students, evaluation of impact, and the development of a sustainable development knowledge platform that allows the uploading of articles, announcement of events, downloading of material, and provides a forum for discussion.). Output from the project, which will include best practices, toolboxes and assessment protocols, will be available to researchers, practitioners and the general public to promote the culture necessary for the prevention of gaming addiction in the context of a burgeoning e-sports phenomenon in Hong Kong.