New research shows that older video game players are finding healthy benefits from gaming.
The paper, “Successful aging through digital games: Socioemotional differences between older adult gamers and non-gamers,” was published online this week in Computers in Human Behavior. The paper was co-authored by Dr. Anne McLaughlin, an assistant professor of psychology at NC State; NC State Ph.D. students Amanda Trujillo, Laura Whitlock and Landon LaPorte; and Dr. Maribeth Gandy of the Georgia Institute of Technology. The research was supported by the National Science Foundation.
The purpose of this investigation was to examine differences in psychological functioning (e.g., well-being, affect, depression, and social functioning) between older adults who play digital games compared to those older adults that did not play digital games. Analysis was conducted on a sample of 140 independently living older adults with an average age of 77.47 years (SD = 7.31). Participants were divided into three groups (Regular, Occasional gamers, and Non-gamers) — 60% of the sample was either a Regular or Occasional Gamer. Differences among the groups were found for well-being, negative affect, social functioning, and depression with Regular and Occasional gamers performing better, on average, than Non-gaming older adults. Findings suggest that playing may serve as a positive activity associated with successful aging.
