Exploring the Social Dimensions of Virtual/Augmented Reality Sport Gaming: Interplay Among Game Involvement, Interpersonal Relationships, Social Capital, and Psychological Well-Being

초록

This study examines the social and psychological benefits of immersive social AR/VR sport games by focusing on how users' involvement in such games influences their psychological well-being. Specifically, we investigated (1) how interpersonal relationships (i.e., social presence and communication engagement in virtual environments) mediate the relationship between game involvement and well-being and (2) how these mediation effects depend on users' social capital (i.e., loneliness). The findings showed that users' involvement in AR/VR sport games enhances well-being via social presence and communication engagement. Further, loneliness moderates the mediation effect of social presence, but not the mediation effect of communication engagement. The findings make a theoretical contribution by addressing a gap in the existing literature on the impact of game involvement on psychological well-being. This study provides useful practical implications for mental health practitioners in developing guidelines for using AR/VR games to support mental health.

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