CYBERPSYCHOLOGY, BEHAVIOR, AND SOCIAL NETWORKING

Volume 20, Number 1, 2017 RAPID COMMUNICATIONS

ª Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
DOI: 10.1089/cyber.2016.0562

Motives Matter:
Motives for Playing Pokémon Go
and Implications for Well-Being

Chia-chen Yang, PhD,1 and Dong Liu, PhD2

Abstract

Mobile games such as Pokémon Go have become a major form of entertainment, and yet little is known about why
people play the games and how their motives associate with well-being. Although literature on motives for playing
video and online games is informative, the findings may not reflect the full spectrum of mobile gaming motives
due to some unique affordances of mobile games (e.g., mobility). To catch up with the evolving gaming context, a
popular mobile game, Pokémon Go, was taken as an example to explore individuals’ mobile gaming motives. A
Pokémon Go Motive Scale was developed. Seven motives were identified through factor analyses based on survey
data from 262 Pokémon Go players (45 percent women; Mage = 30.71, standard deviation = 7.77): Exercise, Fun,
Escapism, Nostalgia, Friendship Maintenance, Relationship Initiation, and Achievement. Both Fun and Friend-
ship Maintenance were positive correlates of well-being, whereas Escapism and Nostalgia were negative cor-
relates. Relationship Initiation was associated with both better and poorer well-being. Implications of the findings
are discussed.

Keywords: gaming, gaming motive, mobile game, well-being

Introduction Being part of the ‘‘gaming family,’’ mobile games share

Gaming motives
M otives play an important role in understanding
players’ approaches to digital games. Based on the uses
and gratifications (U&G) perspective,1 gaming research2,3
shows that the same game can gratify multiple needs. Re-
searchers have been proposing different motive models of
game playing and exploring how these motives relate to ac-
tual gaming behaviors.2,4
Most research has focused on video and online games,
whereas mobile games (the games accessible on mobile de-
vices) are calling for more attention with their increasing
popularity. For instance, Pokémon Go is a game where players
rely on the GPS on their mobile device to locate and capture
Pokémon, a collection of fictional creatures. Adopting the
augmented reality (AR) techniques that mingle the virtual
world with the reality, the game can make players feel as if the
Pokémon are present with them in the real world. Launched in
July of 2016, Pokémon Go soon became the most popular
mobile game in US history,5 attracting over 25 million users in
the country a week after its release.6 What motivated these
players (and thus contributed to this success)?
similarities with video and online games. For example, players
can hunt for or battle Pokémon with others and experience
feelings of accomplishment. Therefore, some motives already
identified in existing gaming literature, such as social inter-
action and attaining a sense of achievement,7,8 may be ap-
plicable to mobile games. On the other hand, mobile games
have their own uniqueness. For instance, the mobility allows
players to enjoy the games (and interact with the reality, if
AR is afforded) while they are on the move, making these
games less sedentary. In the case of Pokémon Go, mobility is a
defining feature of the game; players are required to move
around to collect Pokémon, which differentiates it from tra-
ditional video and online games. New motives may emerge
from the new affordances, but they have not been properly
explored. Using Pokémon Go as an example of mobile games,
we proposed the following research question:
RQ1: What are the motives for playing Pokémon Go?
Implications of gaming motives for well-being
Well-being refers to a state of wellness that allows indi-
viduals to function at an optimal level. In addition to physical

1
Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Research, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee.
2
The Center of Internet Plus Social Psychology, Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China.

52
POKÉMON GO MOTIVES AND WELL-BEING 53

health, it also involves psychosocial features such as hav-
ing positive relations with others, purpose in life, self-
acceptance, personal growth, autonomy, and environmental
mastery.9 The implications of gaming for players’ psycho-
social and physical well-being have been a major pursuit
among scholars, although the foci are usually on game use
rather than motives. Specifically, recent studies suggest
that gaming may bring psychosocial benefits, as it is largely
a social activity and can strengthen connections among
friends.10,11 The association between game play and physical
well-being is less encouraging. Regular video game players
are at a higher risk of being overweight,12 and those who
spend more time playing online games report doing exercise
at a lower frequency.13
What is missing from the current literature is the answer to
the question of how gaming motives would associate with
users’ well-being. According to the self-determination the-
ory (SDT),14 motivation is a fundamental element contrib-
uting to individuals’ growth and self-regulation. Motives
behind one’s goal pursuit affect the person’s well-being in-
dependent of what the goals are,15 suggesting that motives
make unique contributions to well-being. Given the signifi-
cance of motives/motivation in human processes and schol-
ars’ recognition that different gaming motives would lead to
different consequences for players,7 it is surprising how little
attention has been paid to the relationships between gaming
motives and players’ well-being. To bridge this gap, the
second research question was proposed:

Table 1. Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Pokémon Go Motive Scale

Items Loading
Exercise a = 0.96
(1) To get myself active (walking and exercising) 0.899***
(2) To walk and improve my fitness 0.855***
(3) To become more active when being outdoors 0.842***
(4) To get some exercise 0.944***
(5) To burn calories 0.854***
(6) To exercise by traveling around 0.878***
(7) To encourage me to get outside and be more active 0.850***
Fun a = 0.88
(8) It is fun collecting Pokémon 0.933***
(9) It is fun capturing Pokémon 0.918***
(10) It is fun hunting for those cute little Pokémon 0.746***
(11) It is thrilling to hunt down new Pokémon and catch them 0.804***
(12) It is fascinating to see reality mingle with the game on a screen 0.501***
Escapism a = 0.86
(13) To take my mind off work and other worries 0.842***
(14) To keep me from getting bored 0.787***
(15) To get my mind off the present world 0.815***
Nostalgia a = 0.97
(16) I grew up watching and idolizing everything Pokémon related 0.814***
(17) I have played Pokémon for many years and this is a new fun way to play 0.835***
(18) It brings back a sense of nostalgia from when I played the original games 0.885***
(19) It reminds me of watching Pokémon when I was younger 0.913***
(20) It makes me nostalgic for older Pokémon games 0.916***
(21) It reminds me of my childhood (nostalgia) 0.922***
(22) It brings back fun memories 0.932***
(23) It makes me feel young again 0.858***
Friendship maintenance a = 0.93
(24) To socialize and spend time with friends 0.838***
(25) As an option when hanging out with friends 0.848***
(26) It is a fun activity to enjoy with my friends 0.888***
(27) My friends play it and it is great gathering and catching Pokémon together 0.931***
Relationship initiation a = 0.94
(28) To meet new people 0.895***
(29) To meet others who share the same passion as I do 0.898***
(30) To make me more social and meet a lot of new people 0.916***
(31) To interact with other players 0.843***
Achievement a = 0.89
(32) To beat the gyms and dominate my local area 0.850***
(33) To compete with others at gyms 0.839***
(34) To have better Pokémon than my friends 0.697***
(35) To level up and take on gyms with my Pokémon 0.564***
***p < 0.001.
54 YANG AND LIU

RQ2: How are the motives associated with users’ psy-

0.06 0.29*** 0.33*** -0.21** 0.48***

chosocial and physical well-being?

12

0.10 0.45*** 0.33*** -0.37*** 1

Methods

11
Participants

1
A total of 262 adults (45 percent women; age = 18–58,

0.09 -0.39*** -0.22**

Mage = 30.71, standard deviation [SD] = 7.77) in the United

10
States were recruited from Amazon TurkPrime.16 Each re-

0.12 0.60*** 1
spondent received $3.00 for completing the online self-report
survey.

9
Measures

0.02 1
Control variables. Participants reported age, sex, and how
many hours per day they spent on Pokémon Go the week

1
before completing the survey.

0.47*** 0.42*** 0.39***

0.24***
0.18**
0.13*
-0.06

0.13
7
Motives. Based on results of a pilot study where 78 par-

0.68*** 1
ticipants (53 percent women; Mage = 29.75, SD = 8.90) each
provided up to five reasons for playing Pokémon Go, we de-

Table 2. Correlations Among Major Variables

0.20**

0.18**
veloped a Pokémon Go Motive Scale. The 5-point Likert scale

0.17*
-0.03

0.10
6
(1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree) included 44 items.

0.23*** 0.30*** 0.27*** 0.26*** 0.28*** 1

Psychometric properties are reported later and in Table 1.

0.20**
Social capital. We used Williams’17 20-item, 5-point

0.15*
0.18** -0.16** -0.01
0.06

0.08
0.09
(1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree) scale to measure 5

1
offline bonding (a = 0.92) and bridging (a = 0.89) social
capitals.

0.20**
0.40*** 0.20**
0.37*** 0.15*

0.14*
-0.04

-0.07
0.05
4

Loneliness. The 20-item, 4-point (0 = I never feel this

way; 3 = I often feel this way) UCLA Loneliness Scale18 was 0.27*** 0.28*** 1
used (a = 0.98).
0.24*** 0.26*** 0.14*

0.16*

0.15*
0.15*
-0.08
3

Life satisfaction. The 5-item, 7-point (1 = strongly dis-

0.27*** 1

agree, 7 = strongly agree) Satisfaction with Life Scale19 was

used (a = 0.93).
0.11

0.09
-0.05
0.06
0.05
0.09
0.03
2

Physical health. Twelve items from the Physical and

1

Environmental Health Subscale of the Holistic Health Score

Sheet20 were adapted. Higher mean scores of the 6-point
0.14*

0.14*
0.11

0.09
0.10

-0.09
-0.03
-0.03
-0.12
-0.05

scale (1 = strongly disagree/once a year or less, 6 = strongly

1

agree/daily) reflected better physical wellness (a = 0.83).

1
(2.69)
(1.07)
(0.70)
(1.01)
(1.25)
(1.19)
(1.17)
(1.14)
(0.78)
(0.79)
(0.84)
(1.50)
(0.86)
Mean (SD)

Results
Motives for playing Pokémon Go
3.10
3.49
4.21
3.51
3.38
3.16
2.71
3.22
3.82
3.71
0.97
4.66
4.12

We started with an exploratory factor analysis of the 44

motive items, using Mplus 7.21 The seven-factor solution
Friendship maintenance (1–5)

*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001.

Relationship initiation (1–5)

appeared to be the most reasonable model. It had the lowest

Play amount (hours/day)

Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC = 28,941.347), and the

Bridging capital (1–5)

Life satisfaction (1–7)

Bonding capital (1–5)

model fit was acceptable: v2(659) = 1,401.799, p < 0.001;

Physical health (1–6)
Achievement (1–5)

root-mean-squared error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.066,

SD, standard deviation.
Loneliness (0–3)

90 percent confidence interval (CI) [0.061, 0.070]; comp-

Escapism (1–5)
Nostalgia (1–5)
Exercise (1–5)

arative fit index (CFI) = 0.93; Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) =

0.90. We removed the items that did not load on any factors
Fun (1–5)

(i.e., all loadings <0.30) and re-examined the ones that sig-
nificantly loaded on more than one factor. Among the latter,
we further removed the items that had a small loading dif-
ference (<0.10) or were not phrased clearly. The procedure
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
(13)

led to the removal of nine items. We then performed a

POKÉMON GO MOTIVES AND WELL-BEING 55

confirmatory factory analysis on the remaining 35 items. All
items loaded on the expected factor with a loading of >0.50,
and the model fit well: v2(539) = 955.807, p < 0.001;
RMSEA = 0.054, 90 percent CI [0.049, 0.060]; CFI = 0.95,
TLI = 0.95. The model was interpretable and conceptually
reasonable. These seven factors were Exercise, Fun, Escap-
ism, Nostalgia, Friendship Maintenance, Relationship In-
itiation, and Achievement. The Cronbach’s alphas ranged
from 0.86 to 0.97 (Table 1). For descriptive statistics of
the seven motive factors and correlations with the major
variables, see Table 2.
Motives and well-being
A series of multiple regressions were performed, where
well-being outcomes were regressed on the seven motives,
controlling for age, sex, and overall amount of play (Table 3).
Five of the seven motives had significant associations, with
at least one well-being variable. Playing the game for fun was
consistently related to better well-being, such as higher
bonding (b = 0.28, p < 0.001) and bridging (b = 0.18, p = 0.017)
social capitals, lower loneliness (b = -0.21, p = 0.013), and
better physical health (b = 0.19, p = 0.030). Playing the game to
maintain friendships was related to higher life satisfaction
(b = 0.17, p = 0.049). Playing the game to initiate new rela-
tionships was related to more bridging social capital (b = 0.24,
p = 0.005) but also higher loneliness (b = 0.19, p = 0.048). Both
using the game to escape from reality and playing with nos-
talgia were related to poorer well-being. Both were associated
with higher loneliness (bEscapism = 0.15, p = 0.040; bNostalgia =
0.18, p = 0.041), and Escapism was also related to lower
bonding social capital (b = -0.20, p = 0.002) and life satisfac-
tion (b = -0.17, p = 0.011).
Discussion
Based on Pokémon Go players’ responses to why they played
the game, we developed a Pokémon Go Motive Scale and
identified seven factors: Exercise, Fun, Escapism, Nostalgia,
Friendship Maintenance, Relationship Initiation, and
Achievement. Except for Exercise and Escapism, all the
motives were positively correlated with overall amount of
play. It is intriguing that Escapism was not correlated with
more game playing despite the former’s well-established
association with pathological or problematic gaming.4,7,22 It
lends support to the argument that high levels of gaming per
se should not be equated with problematic game use,4 which
involves addiction-like symptoms, such as withdrawal, tol-
erance, and compromised social or life functioning.23,24
Five of the seven motives were associated with users’
well-being. Other researchers have discussed fun and en-
joyment as a major gratification of gaming,3 but its impli-
cations for well-being were less clear. Our study expanded
the literature, showing that being able to have fun and enjoy
the game was consistently associated with positive out-
comes, including higher bonding and bridging social capi-
tals, lower loneliness, and better physical health. For people
who score high on this motive, the game may bring positive
emotions and pleasant experiences, which contribute to a
better state of wellness.
Social interaction, in general, is frequently recognized as
an important motive in gaming literature,7,8,22 but research
on other digital media suggests that using technologies to
interact with existing friends versus striking new relation-
ships should be treated as different constructs. The former
is typically associated with better psychosocial outcomes,
whereas the latter shows an opposite relationship.25,26 The
necessity of also making this distinction in gaming research
was reflected in the results of our factor analysis and
the differentiated associations between the two motives
and well-being. Playing Pokémon Go to maintain existing
friendships was related to a higher level of well-being (life
satisfaction). On the other hand, the motive of relationship
initiation was a mixed blessing. It was associated with both
higher bridging social capital and higher loneliness. A

Table 3. Ordinary Least-Squares Regression of Well-Being on Gaming Motives

Bonding capital Bridging capital Loneliness Life satisfaction Physical health
b (SE) B b (SE) b b (SE) b b (SE) b b (SE) b
Control variables
Age 0.01 (0.01) 0.11 0.01 (0.01) 0.08 -0.00 (0.01) -0.04 0.01 (0.01) 0.06 0.00 (0.01) 0.03
Female 0.02 (0.10) 0.01 0.02 (0.11) 0.01 0.05 (0.13) 0.03 0.22 (0.20) 0.07 -0.22 (0.13) -0.13+
Play amount -0.02 (0.02) -0.08 -0.03 (0.02) -0.10+ -0.02 (0.02) -0.06 -0.10 (0.04) -0.18** -0.04 (0.02) -0.11
Motives
Exercise -0.05 (0.05) -0.07 -0.03 (0.05) -0.04 0.02 (0.06) 0.02 0.03 (0.10) 0.02 -0.04 (0.06) -0.05
Fun 0.31 (0.08) 0.28*** 0.20 (0.08) 0.18* -0.25 (0.10) -0.21* 0.26 (-.16) 0.12+ 0.22 (0.10) 0.19*
Escapism -0.16 (0.05) -0.20** -0.10 (0.05) -0.13+ 0.13 (0.06) 0.15* -0.25 (0.10) -0.17* -0.01 (0.06) -0.01
Nostalgia -0.01 (0.05) -0.01 -0.00 (0.05) -0.00 0.12 (0.06) 0.18* 0.05 (0.09) 0.04 0.02 (0.06) 0.03
Friendship 0.01 (0.06) 0.02 0.05 (0.06) 0.07 -0.05 (0.07) -0.06 0.22 (0.11) 0.17* 0.13 (0.07) 0.17+
Maintenance
Relation -0.02 (0.06) -0.03 0.16 (0.06) 0.24** 0.14 (0.07) 0.19* 0.09 (0.11) 0.07 0.02 (0.07) 0.03
initiation
Achievement 0.01 (0.05) 0.02 -0.01 (0.05) -0.01 0.03 (0.07) 0.03 0.02 (0.10) 0.02 -0.08 (0.07) -0.10
R2 0.11 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.07
F 2.92** 2.91** 2.26* 2.87** 1.51

The variables were entered into the regression models by using scale mean scores (not centered or standardized).
+
p < 0.10; *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001.
SE, standard error.
56
possible explanation is that lonely players are more moti-
vated to initiate new relationships through Pokémon Go,
which, indeed, expands their social network and thus in-
creases bridging social capital. However, the new relation-
ships formed through Pokémon Go (within a short period
since it was launched) are likely to be weak ties27 and may
not be instrumental in reducing one’s loneliness.
The last two motives were related to poor psychosocial
well-being. Both Escapism and Nostalgia were related to
higher loneliness, and Escapism was further associated with
lower bonding social capital and life satisfaction. Given that
escapism is frequently found to be a positive correlate of
problematic or pathological gaming,4,7,22 our findings should
not be surprising. Those who are motivated to use games to
escape from the here-and-now worries may be adopting
gaming as an avoidance coping strategy. Avoidance coping
involves ignoring or escaping from stressors instead of
proactively resolving problems, which is related to poor
well-being such as depression, anxiety, and stress.28 Little is
known about nostalgia as a gaming motive, but its ‘‘looking
back’’ nature may be the reason why it was related to poorer
well-being. After all, being immersed in the past (e.g., ru-
mination) is associated with mental health issues.29 The
findings may help users and health professionals recognize
the beneficial motives and discern the concerning ones.
Limitations, Implications, and Contributions
Our correlational data did not allow us to ascertain cau-
sality between gaming motives and well-being. Longitudinal
and experimental designs are needed to unravel the direc-
tionality of the associations. In addition, following the
guidance of U&G,1 future research should explore how dif-
ferent gaming motives prompt users to approach mobile
games in different ways, and how different usage influences
users’ well-being. From the SDT perspective, it is also worth
pursuing whether gamers’ motives and needs are, indeed,
gratified by the mobile games, because such gratification
predicts how much one enjoys a game and how likely she
or he will continue to play it.30
Despite the limitations, this study contributes to the
gaming literature by illuminating reasons for playing a new
mobile game, Pokémon Go, and clarifying the understudied
associations between gaming motives and well-being. We
reported both motives already spotted in previous studies
(e.g., Escapism, Achievement) and the ones rarely discussed
(e.g., Exercise, Nostalgia). Various motives were associated
with well-being when controlling for the amount of play,
underscoring the importance of considering users’ motives in
the research of digital media. Although gaming research
typically involves a relatively large number of motives4,22
and thus scholars have been trying to develop a more par-
simonious framework,8 our study cautions researchers not to
collapse the motives that seem similar but are conceptually
different (e.g., friendship maintenance and relationship ini-
tiation), as they have different psychosocial implications.
Although this study focused on only one game, the re-
ported motives, especially those that are not game specific
(Fun, Escapism, Achievement), should be applicable to a
wide variety of video, online, and mobile games. In addition,
given that many gaming activities are social in nature,10,11
the relational motives (Friendship Maintenance, Relation-
YANG AND LIU
ship Initiation) should also be observable in various gaming
contexts, such as traditional video gaming and massively
multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). The
motive of Exercise is relevant to the games requiring players
to perform physical activities, including exergames (e.g.,
Wii, Dance Dance Revolution) and geocaching games where
players rely on the GPS to hide and seek objects in different
locations. Even the infrequently identified Nostalgia might
be relevant to the new app of Super Mario Run. Future re-
search should examine whether the associations between
motives and well-being found in this study will be replicated
in these other games. Our findings can provide a useful
structure for researchers to catch up with the ever-changing
media/gaming environment.
Acknowledgments
This study was supported by grants from the Fundamental
Research Funds for the Central Universities and the Research
Funds of Renmin University of China (15XNLF08).
Author Disclosure Statement
No competing financial interests exist.
References
1. Katz E, Blumler JG, Gurevitch M. (2015) Utilization of
communication by the individual. In Blumler JG, Katz E,
eds. The uses of mass communications: current perspec-
tives on gratifications research. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage,
pp. 19–32.
2. Sherry J, Greenberg B, Lucas S, Lachlan K. (2006) Video
game uses and gratifications as predictors of use and game
preference. In Vorderer P, Bryant J, eds. Playing computer
games: Motives, responses and consequences. Mahwah,
New Jersey: Erlbaum, pp. 213–224.
3. Wu J, Wang S, Tsai H. Falling in love with online games:
the uses and gratifications perspective. Computers in Human
Behavior 2010; 26:1862–1871.
4. Billieux J, Ven der Linden M, Achab S, et al. Why do you
play World of Warcraft? An in-depth exploration of self-
reported motivations to play online and in-game behaviors
in the virtual world of Azeroth. Computers in Human Be-
havior 2012; 29:103–109.
5. Allan R. (2016) Pokémon GO usage statistics say it’s the
biggest mobile game in U.S. history. www.surveymonkey
.com/business/intelligence/pokemon-go-usage-statistics/
(accessed Jan. 2, 2017).
6. Allan R. (2016) Has Pokémon GO peaked? The data say
‘‘Yes.’’ www.surveymonkey.com/business/intelligence/peak-
pokemon-go/ (accessed Jan. 2, 2017).
7. Yee N. Motivations for play in online games. Cyberpsy-
chology & Behavior 2006; 9:772–775.
8. Yee N, Ducheneaut N, Nelson L. Online gaming motiva-
tions scale: development and validation. Proceedings of the
SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing
Systems, Austin, TX, 2012; 2803–2806.
9. Ryff CD, Keyes CLM. The structure of psychological well-
being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psy-
chology 1995; 69:719–727.
10. Herodotou C, Kambouri M, Winters N. Dispelling the
myth of socioemotionally dissatisfied gamer. Computers in
Human Behavior 2014; 32:23–31.
POKÉMON GO MOTIVES AND WELL-BEING
11. Lenhart A, Smith A, Anderson M, et al. (2015) Teens,
technology and friendships. www.pewinternet.org/files/2015/
08/Teens-and-Friendships-FINAL2.pdf (accessed Jan. 2,
2017).
12. Melchior M, Chollet A, Fombonne E, et al. Internet and
video game use in relation to overweight in young adults.
American Journal of Health Promotion 2014; 28:321–324.
13. Kowert R, Festl R, Quandt T. Unpopular, overweight, and
socially inept: reconsidering the stereotype of online gam-
ers. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking
2014; 17:141–146.
14. Ryan RM, Deci EL. Self-determination theory and the fa-
cilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and
well-being. American Psychologist 2000; 55:68–78.
15. Sheldon KM, Ryan RM, Deci EL, et al. The independent
effects of goal contents and motives on well-being: it’s both
what you pursue and why you pursue it. Personality and
Social Psychology Bulletin 2004; 30:475–486.
16. Litman L, Robinson J, Abberbock T. TurkPrime.com: a
versatile crowdsourcing data acquisition platform for the
behavioral sciences. Behavior Research Methods 2016.
[Epub ahead of print] DOI: 10.3758/s13428-016-0727-z
17. Williams D. On and off the net: scales for social capital in
an online era. Journal of Computer-Mediated Commu-
nication 2006; 11:593–628.
18. Russell D, Peplau LA, Ferguson ML. Developing a mea-
sure of loneliness. Journal of Personality Assessment 1978;
42:290–294.
19. Diener ED, Emmons RA, Larsen RJ, et al. The satisfaction
with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment 1985;
49:71–75.
20. Thompson CR. (2007) Screening for health, fitness, and
wellness. In Thompson CR, ed. Prevention practice: a
physical therapist’s guide to health, fitness, and wellness.
Thorofare, NJ: Slack Incorporated, pp. 53–72.
21. Muthén BO, Muthén LK. (2012) Mplus 7 base program.
Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.
22. Hilgar J, Engelhardt CR, Bartholow BD. Individual differ-
ences in motives, preferences, and pathology in video
games: the gaming attitudes, motives, and experiences scales
(GAMES). Frontiers in Psychology 2013; 4:Article 608.
23. Choo H, Sim T, Liau AKF, et al. Parental influences on
pathological symptoms of video-gaming among children
and adolescents: a prospective study. Journal of Child and
Family Studies 2015; 24:1429–1441.
57
24. Gentile D. Pathological video-game use among youth ages
8 to 18: a national study. Psychological Science 2009; 20:
594–602.
25. Yang C-c, Brown BB. Motives for using Facebook, patterns
of Facebook activities, and late adolescents’ social adjust-
ment to college. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 2013;
42:403–416.
26. Yang C-c, Brown BB. Factors involved in associations be-
tween Facebook use and college adjustment: social compe-
tence, perceived usefulness, and use patterns. Computers in
Human Behavior 2015; 46:245–253.
27. Granovetter MS. The strength of weak ties. American
Journal of Sociology 1973; 78:1360–1380.
28. Stemmet L, Roger D, Kuntz J, et al. General and specific
avoidance: the development and concurrent validation of a
new measure of avoidance coping. European Journal of
Psychological Assessment 2015; 31:222–230.
29. Nolen-Hoeksema S. The role of rumination in depressive
disorders and mixed anxiety/depressive symptoms. Journal
of Abnormal Psychology 2000; 109:504–511.
30. Ryan RM, Rigby CS, Przybylski A. The motivational pull
of video games: a self-determination theory approach.
Motivation and Emotion 2006; 30:347–363.
Address correspondence to:
Dr. Chia-chen Yang
Department of Counseling, Educational
Psychology and Research
University of Memphis
303D Ball Hall
Memphis, TN 38152
E-mail: cyang2@memphis.edu
Dr. Dong Liu
The Center of Internet Plus Social Psychology
Department of Psychology
Renmin University of China
D-1007, Huixian Bldv
Zhongguancun Street
Beijing 100872
China
E-mail: bnuliudong@gmail.com