Psico

Electronic media use during COVID-19 pandemic

Natália Sant'Anna da Silva — 2024-02-16

During COVID-19 pandemic an increase electronic media (e-media) usage time was reported correlated to behavioral problems. This study verified the associations between e-media and behavioral/emotional problems in children in the context of the pandemic. Sample: Parents of 277 children aged 7-11 years old. Instruments: socioeconomic questionnaire; MAF-P and CBCL/6-18. Spearman's correlation analyses showed positive associations between the MAF-P and CBCL/6-18 scales. Adult games were correlated with 12 scales; websites for information/entertainment were associated with 6 scales, gambling online with one scale; electronic games and watching YouTube videos were associated with all 17 scales. In conclusion, overall, the results indicate the need of supervising children’s e-media access considering the number and frequency of use and the elevated number of emotional and behavioral problems found among the evaluated group.

Relationship between action video games, mindfulness and fear of COVID-19 in university students

Radael Rezende Rodrigues Junior — 2024-03-19

Interaction with video games increased significantly in the COVID-19 pandemic. On the other hand, an attentional aspect that may show changes related to the amount of interaction with action video games is mindfulness. Therefore, the objective of this study was to verify a possible relationship between the use of action video games (in weekly hours), mindfulness and fear of COVID-19. To this end, players and non-players of action video games aged between 18 and 29 years (n = 384, M = 21.6, SD = 2.6) were asked to respond to the Covid Fear Scale and the Facets of Mindfulness. Results did not demonstrate a significant relationship between the use of action video games and mindfulness, but showed that action video game players were less afraid of COVID-19. It is discussed how the escapism provided by the game can partly explain a decrease in attention to information related to the disease.

The internet’s dark side

Isabella Silva Santos — 2024-02-16

The study aimed to conduct a systematic literature review on antisocial online behavior. The objective was also to categorize these behaviors and observe related psychosocial aspects. To this end, a qualitative synthesis was used, including quantitative studies published between 2016-2020 in the Scopus, PsycInfo, Pepsic, and Scielo databases. 25 studies fitted the analyzes. The results demonstrated the existence of four antisocial online behavior categories: cyberbullying, trolling, sexual antisocial behavior, and cyberstalking. The dark tetrad (narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and sadism) was the most consistent predictor of these categories among studies. The research fulfilled the proposed purposes, filling two literature gaps: The lack of categorization of antisocial online behavior; and the scarcity of Brazilian studies on the topic.