New research published in Computers in Human Behavior suggests that perfectionistic parental attitudes can contribute to maladaptive responses to failure in their children, which in turn may increase the risk of compulsive gaming behaviors. The study highlights the importance of considering parental influences in understanding the development of gaming disorder.
The researchers conducted this study to investigate how perfectionism influences people’s reactions in demanding situations where cognitive performance is required, particularly in the context of gaming. They were interested in understanding the relationship between perfectionism, reactions to failure in gaming, and the development of addictive gaming behaviors.
“Prior research has provided evidence that perfectionistic parental attitudes can lead to increased sensitivity to failure, less efficient coping, higher stress, and anxiety in challenging situations,” the authors of the study told PsyPost.
“Individuals exposed to critical parental attitudes towards performance are also more likely to pursue unattainable high goals in education or work as they internalize high parental standards. We were interested in whether internalized parental perfectionism can also influence leisure activities such as video gaming and reactions to failure in games.”
To conduct the study, the researchers collected data from 2,097 Hungarian gamers through an online questionnaire. They collaborated with a popular gamer lifestyle magazine called GameStar to promote the survey. The researchers used various scales and questionnaires to measure different variables.
The researchers developed a survey instrument called the Reactions to Failure in Gaming Scale specifically for this study. It consisted of nine items that assessed three ways of reacting to failure in gaming: over-engagement (rumination and self-blame), disengagement (ignoring or suppressing emotions related to failure), and constructive engagement (a healthy balance between preoccupation and repression of failure). Over-engagement and disengagement were considered maladaptive responses, while constructive engagement was seen as adaptive.
The researchers assessed parental perfectionism using the parental expectations and parental criticism subscales from the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale. Participants rated statements related to their parents’ high standards and criticism (e.g. “My parents set very high standards for me”) on a five-point scale.
Self-oriented perfectionism was measured using the Big Three Perfectionism Scale – Short Form . This scale had three subscales: rigid perfectionism, self-critical perfectionism, and narcissistic perfectionism. Participants indicated their agreement with each statement on a five-point scale.
Finally, the researchers assessed gaming disorder using the Ten-Item Internet Gaming Disorder Test. Participants answered items related to their gaming habits and behaviors (e.g. “Have you ever in the past 12 months unsuccessfully tried to reduce the time spent on gaming?”), with responses rated on a scale of “never,” “sometimes,” or “often.”
The study found that higher parental expectations and criticism were associated with higher levels of self-oriented perfectionism, which is the tendency to set high standards for oneself. Parental criticism was also linked to self-critical perfectionism, suggesting that children internalize critical attitudes from their parents. However, parental criticism was not directly associated with rigid perfectionism, which is the pursuit of high standards without being overly self-critical.
The researchers also found that parental criticism and self-critical perfectionism were associated with maladaptive reactions to failure when gaming. Furthermore, an indirect relationship between self-critical perfectionism and gaming disorder was mediated by over-engagement, suggesting that rumination and self-blame played a role in the development of gaming disorder symptoms.
“Our results suggest that critical parental attitudes can have a pervasive role even in an entertainment domain where direct parental aspirations of expected performance are rare,” the study authors explained. “Internalized parental criticism can increase the emotional sensitivity of gamers to failure in video gaming, and ruminative responses to these experiences can considerably increase the risk of gaming addiction. These findings point out that early childhood experiences regarding parental expectations on performance can affect not only education or career pursuits but can also engagement in leisure activities.”
The study also found that narcissistic perfectionism, which involves expecting flawless performance from others, was associated with disengagement. Rigid perfectionism, which is the pursuit of high personal standards without self-criticism, was associated with constructive engagement, indicating a healthier response to failure.
Contrary to previous findings, only narcissistic perfectionism showed a weak direct association with gaming disorder. The researchers suggested that the maintenance of a positive self-image and self-regulation may be important in preventing gaming disorder in individuals with critical parental attitudes and high levels of self-criticism.
These findings suggest that when parents have critical attitudes towards performance and become too focused on failure, it can contribute to the development of addictive gaming behaviors.
“We were surprised how much perfectionism and reactions to failure in gaming contributed to gaming disorder symptoms,” the researchers told PsyPost. “Our findings suggest that parental criticism and rumination over failure in gaming can substantially contribute to the addictive use of video games. This information may assist in prevention efforts and screening of gaming disorder.”
The study includes some limitations. For instance, the study design was cross-sectional, so it cannot prove cause and effect relationships. While the study found a link between how people react to failure and gaming disorder, it doesn’t mean that one necessarily causes the other.
“The findings suggest that critical parental attitudes towards performance can be reliable precursors of later unhealthy reactions to challenging situations in video gaming, which, in turn, are associated with an increased risk of gaming addiction,” the researchers said. “However, this mechanism needs further empirical confirmation using longitudinal investigations.”
The study, “Pursuing virtual perfection: Preoccupation with failure mediates the association between internalized parental criticism and gaming disorder“, was authored by Ágnes Zsila, Reza Shabahang, Mara S. Aruguete, Beáta Bőthe, Zsolt Demetrovics, and Gábor Orosz.
