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Psychiatrists’ Perceptions of World of Warcraft and Other MMORPGs

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Abstract

Video game use, particularly massively-multiplayer online games (MMOs) and massively-multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), has been a focus of considerable research in recent years. However, little is known regarding how mental health workers perceive patients and clients who report playing them. The present study examines whether psychiatrists play MMOs/MMORPGs and how they perceive those who play them. Psychiatrists (N = 48) at a tertiary care centre in Canada completed a questionnaire assessing history of playing video games as well as whether they associate such use with psychopathology. Only 36.7 % believed there was an association between psychopathology and MMO/MMORPG use. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.

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Correspondence to Eric Lis.

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All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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No funding was provided for this research.

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All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (5). Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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Lis, E., Chiniara, C., Wood, M.A. et al. Psychiatrists’ Perceptions of World of Warcraft and Other MMORPGs. Psychiatr Q 87, 323–327 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-015-9390-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-015-9390-2

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