Impulsivity and alexithymia in virtual worlds: A study on players of World of Warcraft

Objective: Symptoms of problematic Internet use (PIU) may be increased in people who display an excessive involvement in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs). Notably, impulsivity and alexithymia have not been investigated together in the literature addressing the predictors of PIU among gamers, despite evidence that these personality traits may play a pivotal role in the development of problematic gaming patterns. The purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between facets of alexithymia and impulsivity and PIU scores among MMORPG players. Method: In the current study, 364 World of Warcraft (WoW) players (272 males, 74.7%) aged 18 to 48 years old provided socio-demographic information and completed questionnaires on PIU, time spent online playing WoW, alexithymia, and impulsivity. Results: PIU scores were negatively associated with age and positively associated with alexithymia scores, impulsivity scores, and time spent online playing WoW. A linear regression analysis showed that PIU scores were predicted by time spent online playing WoW, the alexithymic features concerning difficulties identifying and describing feelings, and attentional impulsivity. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that MMORPG players with difficulties concerning affect awareness and a tendency to be distracted by novel stimuli may spend an excessive amount of time playing video games and may also show prominent symptoms of PIU.