Examining the moderator role of coping strategies and perceived social support in the relationship between personality traits and game addiction in late adolescence

Objective: This study investigates the moderating effects of coping strategies and perceived social support in the relationship between personality traits and game addiction in late adolescence and also examines the relationship between game addiction and sociodemographic features, feautres related to gaming and digital use. Method: This study was conducted with 182 people between ages of 18-25 using the convenience sampling method. In the study, Sociodemographic Information Form, Five Factor Personality Scale, Coping Styles Scale, Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale and Internet Gaming Disorder Scale Short Form were used as data collection tools. In order to test the hypotheses of the study, multiple regression analysis and moderator analysis were applied using the Process Macro in SPSS program. Independent samples t test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Pearson correlation analysis were applied to evaluate relationships of sociodemographic variables and main variables with each other. Results: It has been determined that openness to experience, conscientiousness and perceived social support were related to game addiction, coping strategies and perceived social support had moderating effects in the relationship between personality traits and game addiction. Game addiction scores were found to be related to gender, age, occupational status, education level, income level, gaming tool, game type, making friends from game, game platform, social media application, frequently used substances and average game time. Based on the game addiction scales cut-off score, it was determined that the rate of the risk group in terms of game addiction in the sample was fairly low with 3.8%. Conclusion: It was seen that the difference between game addiction and engagement to game should be better understood according to research results. On the other hand, functional coping strategies and perceived social support were evaluated as protective factors for young people with neurotic personality trait. Keywords: Late Adolescence, Personality Traits, Game Addiction, Coping Strategies, Perceived Social Support.