Abstract

Background: This study represented the first investigation of video/computer game addiction in Ghana and Africa. We investigated the prevalence of video game addiction and some of its correlates. In addition, the effects of some demographic factors on video game addiction were examined.
Methods: A sample of Ghanaian University students (n= 263) from three public universities in Ghana were randomly selected. 136 were males whereas 127 were females. The mean age of the participants was 21.65 years.
Results: We found that 12.2% (n=32) of the total sample were addicted to playing video games when a monothetic approach was used (i.e., every criterion for video game addiction were met), while 31.2% (n=82) of the total sample were addicted to playing video games when a polythetic approach was used (i.e., half of the criteria for video game addiction were met). Males spent more time and were addicted to playing video games than females. Our findings also revealed that students who played online games reported being addicted to playing video/computer games than offline gamers. Video game addiction was positively related to time spent playing video games and depression. In contrast, video game addiction was negatively related to self-esteem. No relationship was found between video game addiction and life satisfaction.
Conclusions: Our high prevalence rates suggest that video game addiction is a problematic issue among the Ghanaian University students and needs proper attention from researchers and clinicians.

Key words: video/computer game addiction; depression; life satisfaction; self-esteem