Publication details
User-Avatar Bond 2.0 : Development of a new-old scale and its association with gaming disorder and life satisfaction
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| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | Background: This study aims at upgrading the User-Avatar Bond (UAB) scale (Blinka, 2008), one of the oldest measures of its type, by improving its existing items and adding more items for exploring new dimensions Methods: 6,391 adult gamers (Mage = 26.31; SD = 7.04; 83.4% males) completed the online questionnaire that included a pool of 30 items of the UAB2.0, the Gaming Disorder Test (GDT), and the Satisfaction With Life (SWL) scale. Exploratory graph analysis and a set of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were employed to assess the UAB2.0. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the association between dimensions of UAB2.0, GDT, and SWL. Results: The final CFA model included 19 items, showed excellent fit to data, and identified 4 factors: Unity between self and avatar, Compensation of gamer’s weaknesses by avatar’s superior characteristics, Influence of the avatar upon gamer’s behavior and feelings (Proteus effect), and Emotional bond. Compensation, Bond, and Influence were moderately associated with gaming disorder (ß = .32, .26., and .23). SWL was moderately related to Compensation (ß = -.33), and weakly to Influence and Bond (ß = -.12 and -.11). Discussion & Conclusions: UAB2.0 is a promising tool for studying patterns of players´ identification with their gaming avatars. An avatar perceived as compensative by the gamer is especially predictive of gaming disorder and lower satisfaction with life. |
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