Escaping into gaming could worsen real-life problems says PhD student
By Greg Chapman
The risks around escaping into online gaming could exacerbate a player’s personal and emotional problems in real life – unless they can find ways to increase their resilience.
That’s according to CQU research student Lorelle Bowditch, who’s own fascination with the ‘gamer life’ led her to study online dependency.
Lorelle is one of seven research students who will receive their Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at the 2026 CQUniversity Brisbane Graduation Ceremony on 14 August.
Lorelle’s thesis project, Pathways to Problematic Internet Gaming, found that while gamers perceived escaping into online worlds as a positive, even healthy motivations could lead to problematic outcomes if the intention of gaming was driven by a need towards avoiding real life stresses.
“In times of stress, engaged coping strategies - for example, emotion expression - successfully promotes healthy, adaptive gaming, whereas disengaged coping strategies - problem avoidance - increase a person's vulnerability to problematic gaming outcomes,” Lorelle said.
She said her research entailed using qualitative interviews, social-media analysis, cross-sectional surveys, and longitudinal studies to offer a deeper understanding of the experiences and perspectives of the people at the centre of the problem.
“My love for video games began in the 1980's when my dad first brought home an Atari 2600. While I have always managed to maintain a healthy balance between gaming and real life, I have watched friends struggle to do the same, leaving me curious about why some people might be more vulnerable to problematic gaming,” she said.
“When COVID-19 hit, I had just started my PhD. During lockdown online gaming surged, which framed my research in a new light and highlighted how urgently we needed to better understand these vulnerabilities.”
Her research culminated in the development of a ‘Spectrum of Resilience’, which identified specific traits that make a gamer either more resilient or more vulnerable to problematic gaming.
In her thesis Lorelle offers valuable insights into the development of interventions for problematic internet gaming which can be targeted to specific individual vulnerabilities to help build resilience and promote healthy coping behaviours.
“The findings could be used to inform the creation of resources to help those struggling with problematic gaming, and internet game developers could integrate the findings into design features that promote healthy gaming practices.
“It’s very important to recognise both the potential benefits of online gaming as well as the drawbacks, to ensure that gaming remains a healthy pastime for millions of people around the world, while acknowledging the potential risks to some.”
The 2026 CQUniversity Brisbane Graduation Ceremony will be held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on 14 August.
