Relação entre experiências adversas na infância e uso de videojogos em adultos

: papel preditivo da desregulação emocional

Abstract

Currently, there has been a progressive increase in the use of video games, where the population invests part of their leisure time. Literature has shown that Adverse Childhood Experiences impact on the adult lives of individuals who have experienced these traumas, particularly in terms of psychopathology such as Addiction Disorders. Emotional dysregulation has received significant focus, as the ability to regulate emotions appears to be related both to traumas that occurred during childhood and to gaming-related disorders. The overall objective of this study is to verify whether emotional dysregulation predicts the relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Video Game Use in adults. This is a quantitative study with a descriptive-correlational design. Four instruments were used for data collection: a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Childhood Adversity History Questionnaire, the Emotion Regulation Difficulties Scale, and the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale – Short Form. The sample consists of 87 participants, drawn from a non-probability sample, specifically network sampling. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS software. The results of this study show that individuals who suffered from ACEs in childhood spend more time on video games and have greater difficulties in emotional regulation. Finally, this study shows that individuals with greater difficulty in emotional regulation are more addicted to video games. This study highlights the need to expand knowledge in this area in the future with longitudinal studies to determine cause-and-effect relationships.

Date of Award	19 Jan 2026
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Paulo César Dias (Supervisor)