Measuring loot box consumption and negative consequences: Psychometric investigation of a Swedish version of the Risky Loot Box Index
•Loot Box use and purchases have potentially addictive qualities.•An instrument, the Risky Loot Box Index, was psychometrically evaluated in a Swedish populations.•A revised scale consisting of a two factor seven item scale was the best fit.•The revised scale measures overconsumption in relation tim...
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| Published in: | Addictive behaviors reports Vol. 16; p. 100453 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier Ltd
01-12-2022
Elsevier |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | •Loot Box use and purchases have potentially addictive qualities.•An instrument, the Risky Loot Box Index, was psychometrically evaluated in a Swedish populations.•A revised scale consisting of a two factor seven item scale was the best fit.•The revised scale measures overconsumption in relation time spent on loot boxes and purchases of loot boxes.•The instrument can be used to measure the potentially addictive qualities of loot box use.•This is important since loot box use, and purchases has been linked to problem gambling.
Loot boxes are products in videogames that is earned by playing a video game or by buying them. Loot boxes has similar mechanisms as a lottery and there is an ongoing debate if loot boxes are gambling. However, to understand the potential harm of loot boxes valid instruments are needed. An English study psychometrically evaluated an instrument focused on risky loot box use called the Risky Loot Box Index. The study evaluated 12 item scale and based on a factor analysis it was reduced to a five-item scale. The aim of our study is to evaluate a Swedish version of the 12-item instrument from a psychometric perspective. Two samples recruited via an online survey were used. The first sample was recruited from the gambling site Unibet. A mail with an invitation to participate was sent to esports bettors and sport bettors at the gambling site. The second sample was recruited from a Facebook forum focused on e-sports. An invitation was posted on the forum to partake in the study. A total of 195 of respondents (96% men and 4% women) with a mean age of 33.76 (SD = 12.34) answered the Unibet survey and 169 respondents (96% men and 4% women and non-binary) with a mean age of 23.89 (SD = 5.52) answered the Facebook survey. An exploratory factor analysis yielded a two-factor seven item solution. The factors were overconsumption regarding time spent on loot boxes and the other factor was focused on overconsumption of loot boxes in terms of spending money. The confirmatory factor analysis conducted in the Facebook sample validated the result from the exploratory factor analysis. The conclusion of the study is that the Swedish version of the Risky Loot Index has good psychometric properties and can used to measure risky loot box consumption. |
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| Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
| ISSN: | 2352-8532 2352-8532 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.abrep.2022.100453 |