Female Gaming, Gaming Addiction, and the Role of Women Within Gaming Culture: A Narrative Literature Review
Research investigating female gaming has begun to emerge despite gaming being traditionally more popular with males. Research in the 21st century has drawn attention to the role of women in culture, society, and technology, and female gaming is one of the growing phenomena not to have been researche...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2019-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00454/full |
| _version_ | 1818529503476973568 |
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| author | Olatz Lopez-Fernandez Olatz Lopez-Fernandez A. Jess Williams A. Jess Williams Mark D. Griffiths Daria J. Kuss |
| author_facet | Olatz Lopez-Fernandez Olatz Lopez-Fernandez A. Jess Williams A. Jess Williams Mark D. Griffiths Daria J. Kuss |
| author_sort | Olatz Lopez-Fernandez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Research investigating female gaming has begun to emerge despite gaming being traditionally more popular with males. Research in the 21st century has drawn attention to the role of women in culture, society, and technology, and female gaming is one of the growing phenomena not to have been researched in depth. The aim of the present paper was to review female gaming (i.e., the role of females within video game culture) and identify any associated psychopathological symptomatology. The review adapted the Sample, Phenomenon of Interest, Design, Evaluation, Research (SPIDER) model in conducting a narrative literature review. A search of three scientific electronic databases yielded 49 papers for further evaluation. From a methodological perspective, studies had to fulfill the following criteria to be included: i) published between the years 2000 and 2018; ii) assessed female gaming or the female position within gaming culture, iii) contained quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods approaches to produce empirical data or discuss theoretical implications through reviews, iv) be retrievable as a full-text peer-reviewed journal paper, and v) published in English, German, Polish, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, or French. Four categories emerged from the papers: i) the benefits of female gaming, ii) why women might play video games less than men, iii) perceptions and realities of female characters within video games, and iv) women’s position in gaming culture. The main findings showed playing video games has benefits for women in terms of enhancing cognitive, social, and physical abilities. However, they are less encouraged to play video games due to negative expectations based on gender and/or experiences during game play. Video games are associated with stereotypical male characteristics, such as being overly aggressive, and frequently contain sexualized content. Female gamers appear to require coping strategies to handle online harassment. Females look for different things in video games, which are not often included in game designs thereby limiting their abilities. For instance, female avatar representation—which is exaggerated and hypersexualized—can prompt social comparisons and lead to feelings of decreased self-esteem, depression, and other impacts on well-being. Overall, there are still obstacles for women playing video games even though they comprise half of the gaming population. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T17:07:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bb64281713ae4e729ef5cdded9515e0e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T17:07:43Z |
| publishDate | 2019-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-bb64281713ae4e729ef5cdded9515e0e2022-12-22T00:57:38ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402019-07-011010.3389/fpsyt.2019.00454449322Female Gaming, Gaming Addiction, and the Role of Women Within Gaming Culture: A Narrative Literature ReviewOlatz Lopez-Fernandez0Olatz Lopez-Fernandez1A. Jess Williams2A. Jess Williams3Mark D. Griffiths4Daria J. Kuss5International Gaming Research Unit, Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United KingdomTurning Point, Eastern Health and Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaInternational Gaming Research Unit, Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United KingdomInstitute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United KingdomInternational Gaming Research Unit, Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United KingdomInternational Gaming Research Unit, Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United KingdomResearch investigating female gaming has begun to emerge despite gaming being traditionally more popular with males. Research in the 21st century has drawn attention to the role of women in culture, society, and technology, and female gaming is one of the growing phenomena not to have been researched in depth. The aim of the present paper was to review female gaming (i.e., the role of females within video game culture) and identify any associated psychopathological symptomatology. The review adapted the Sample, Phenomenon of Interest, Design, Evaluation, Research (SPIDER) model in conducting a narrative literature review. A search of three scientific electronic databases yielded 49 papers for further evaluation. From a methodological perspective, studies had to fulfill the following criteria to be included: i) published between the years 2000 and 2018; ii) assessed female gaming or the female position within gaming culture, iii) contained quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods approaches to produce empirical data or discuss theoretical implications through reviews, iv) be retrievable as a full-text peer-reviewed journal paper, and v) published in English, German, Polish, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, or French. Four categories emerged from the papers: i) the benefits of female gaming, ii) why women might play video games less than men, iii) perceptions and realities of female characters within video games, and iv) women’s position in gaming culture. The main findings showed playing video games has benefits for women in terms of enhancing cognitive, social, and physical abilities. However, they are less encouraged to play video games due to negative expectations based on gender and/or experiences during game play. Video games are associated with stereotypical male characteristics, such as being overly aggressive, and frequently contain sexualized content. Female gamers appear to require coping strategies to handle online harassment. Females look for different things in video games, which are not often included in game designs thereby limiting their abilities. For instance, female avatar representation—which is exaggerated and hypersexualized—can prompt social comparisons and lead to feelings of decreased self-esteem, depression, and other impacts on well-being. Overall, there are still obstacles for women playing video games even though they comprise half of the gaming population.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00454/fullinternet addictioninternet gaming disordergaming disorderbehavioral addictionfemale gaminggaming culture |
| spellingShingle | Olatz Lopez-Fernandez Olatz Lopez-Fernandez A. Jess Williams A. Jess Williams Mark D. Griffiths Daria J. Kuss Female Gaming, Gaming Addiction, and the Role of Women Within Gaming Culture: A Narrative Literature Review Frontiers in Psychiatry internet addiction internet gaming disorder gaming disorder behavioral addiction female gaming gaming culture |
| title | Female Gaming, Gaming Addiction, and the Role of Women Within Gaming Culture: A Narrative Literature Review |
| title_full | Female Gaming, Gaming Addiction, and the Role of Women Within Gaming Culture: A Narrative Literature Review |
| title_fullStr | Female Gaming, Gaming Addiction, and the Role of Women Within Gaming Culture: A Narrative Literature Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Female Gaming, Gaming Addiction, and the Role of Women Within Gaming Culture: A Narrative Literature Review |
| title_short | Female Gaming, Gaming Addiction, and the Role of Women Within Gaming Culture: A Narrative Literature Review |
| title_sort | female gaming gaming addiction and the role of women within gaming culture a narrative literature review |
| topic | internet addiction internet gaming disorder gaming disorder behavioral addiction female gaming gaming culture |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00454/full |
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