‘Gaming is my main source of relaxation and stress relief’: the wellbeing advantages of gaming for moms

I’m excited to share that the newest paper from our Gaming Parents challenge has been revealed in Communication Research and Practice. Our analysis, which surveyed Australian gaming mums, utilized an integrative strategy to Self-Determination Theory and Recovery ideas to know how gaming helps moms’ wellbeing.

We discovered gameplay provides alternatives for rest, psychological detachment, achievement, creativity, nostalgia, and connection, positively supporting wellbeing. However, autonomy was continuously constrained by interruptions to gameplay, unequal care obligations, and the pressures of intensive mothering, leading to gamer guilt which lowered moms’ play. Limited management over participant session lengths and non-pauseable video games additionally inhibited gameplay.

Our findings recommend that recognising moms as players is not only about leisure—it is about acknowledging their wellbeing wants and the structural boundaries that restrict entry to restoration and self-care.

Thanks to my co-author, Ashlee Borgkvist, and to Renee Barnes and Hannah Adler from Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand Communication Association for supporting our analysis.

📖 Read the article:
#GamingResearch #Mothering #MentalHealth #Wellbeing #WomenWhoGame #Research