Background: A positive relationship between problematic gaming and escapism motivation to play video games has
been well established, suggesting that problematic gaming may result from attempts to deal with negative emotions.
However, to date, no study has examined how emotion dysregulation affects both escapism motives and problematic
gaming patterns. Methods: Difficulties in emotion regulation, escapism, and problematic involvement with video
games were assessed in a sample of 390 World of Warcraft players. A structural equation modeling framework was
used to test the hypothesis that escapism mediates the relationship between emotion dysregulation and problematic
gaming. Results: Statistical analyses showed that difficulties in emotion regulation predicted both escapism motives
and problematic gaming, and that escapism partially mediated this relationship. Conclusion: Our findings support the
view that problematic players are likely to escape in online games as a maladaptive coping strategy for dealing with
adverse emotional experiences.