Preference for videogames and its correlations with moral disengagement, personality traits and academic achievement in Italian pre-adolescents

The aim of this study is to explore the existing relationship between gameplay type and moral disengagement, personality traits, and academic achievement. For this purpose, a sample of Italian pre-adolescents (N=363; males 48.5%, mean age=10.02, SD=1.15) was recruited. Participants completed a self-report questionnaire including data regarding sociodemographic data, play practices, and the following psychological tests: Big Five Questionnaire-Children; Moral Disengagement Evaluation Scale. Results suggest that preference for videogames was statistically associated with moral disengagement but it was not associated with personality traits nor with academic achievement. Outdoor play was associated with academic achievement and with a series of personality traits that are usually negatively connected to problematic gambling. The preference for videogames in pre-adolescence seems to have more influence on the moral disengagement than on the personality traits or academic achievement. Instead, outdoor play resulted as a protection factor for academic achievement and the onset of personality traits that could predispose the child to problematic gameplay in the future.