Potential Risks Associated with eSportsmen Activities: an Empirical Study

The purpose of the study was to identify the level of development of gaming disorder among e-sportsmen as a potential risk of their activity. Three groups were formed for the study. The first group consisted of 102 e-sportsmen aged between 18 and 32; the second group consisted of boys of the same age who, according to preliminary questionnaires, played computer games fairly frequently - at least once a week (n = 102); the third group consisted of individuals of the same gender and age, but who did not share a passion for computer games (n = 102). The study was performed using semi-structured interview during which the respondents filled out the Computer gaming disorder questionnaire developed and tested by O.M. Vidova under our supervision. Our study showed that among 102 e-sportsmen, 82,3% did not have any computer gaming disorder, only some tendency thereto. While 17,6% of e-sportsmen were characterized by a pronounced gaming disorder. E-sportsmen who prefer strategies, less than all other e-sportsmen, tend to escape from reality and accept the game role, to express their emotions through the game, and in general have the lowest level of dependence on games. Additionally, strategic e-sportsmen are most likely to study the game thoroughly and to develop themselves with it. Many Starcraft e-sportsmen tend to explore the possibilities of the game in detail and, at the same time, protect themselves from escaping into virtual reality. The risk of computer gaming disorder among e-sportsmen is largely determined by their sports achievements, the type of sports activity (individual or team), and genre of the preferred computer game.