Symptoms of PUBG Addiction among Male Adolescents: A Comparison between College Level Student Cricketers Vs Non-Athlete College Students

Abstract

This research was undertaken with the objective of comparing the well-being of college level student cricketers and non-athlete college students in relation to Player Unknown's Battlegrounds’ (PUBG). We included 400 male adolescent students between the ages of 16 and 18 who had played PUBG and assessed their gaming addiction by using the Gaming Addiction Scale (GAS). The comparison of data between both groups was conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test. A significant distinction exists between athletes and non-athletes. Non-athletes had significantly higher rates of PUBG addiction than college level student cricketers. The findings of this study indicated that cricket athletes have lower levels of PUBG addiction compared to non-athlete adolescents. However, this study utilized self-reported questionnaire to collect data, that lack the comprehensive assessment required for clinical applications. Hence, future investigations should seek to replicate the study’s findings by using experimental approach that could provide a clearer cause-and-effect relationship.