Attitudes or norms? Self-esteem as a moderator of gaming intentions and gaming-related outcomes

Online gaming has become a common leisure activity among young adults, with concerns about excessive and problematic use increasing since the COVID-19 pandemic. While problematic game use (PGU) has been extensively examined in adolescents, less is known about the variables related to PGU among college students experiencing greater autonomy and social pressure. Guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), this study examines whether attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control (PBC) are associated with gaming intention and whether intention is related to excessive game use (EGU) and PGU. The study further examines self-esteem as a moderator that may alter the cognitive and social mechanisms underlying intention formation. A sample of 303 Korean undergraduates with online gaming experience participated in the survey with validated measures of TPB constructs, intention, EGU, PGU, and self-esteem. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypothesized model, and multi-group SEM was conducted to examine moderation by self-esteem. The overall SEM demonstrated good fit. Subjective norm (β = 0.612), PBC (β = 0.378), and attitude (β = 0.124) showed significant associations with intention. Intention showed a strong positive association with EGU (β = 0.709), which was positively associated with PGU (β = 0.326). PBC also influenced EGU (β = 0.104). Multi-group analyses revealed distinct mechanisms by self-esteem: attitude was significantly associated with intention only among high self-esteem students, whereas subjective norms showed a substantially stronger association with intention among students with low self-esteem. Differences in ATT → INT (Δχ² = 4.97, p < .05) and SUB → INT (Δχ² = 6.88, p < .01) were significant. The findings support the usefulness of TPB in understanding gaming intention and related gaming behaviors. Self-esteem appears to condition the cognitive and social antecedents of intention, highlighting the need for tailored interventions: autonomy- and value-based strategies for high self-esteem individuals, and norm- or peer-based approaches for low self-esteem individuals.