The Inner Worlds of Gamers: A New Study Reveals Four Psychological Profiles That Map Mental Health and Attachment Styles
Thursday, June 5, 2025.
A massive new study published in Addictive Behaviors has charted fresh territory in how we understand gaming—not as a monolith of “good” or “bad” habits, but as a nuanced psychological landscape shaped by emotional regulation, mental health, and attachment styles.
With over 5,000 participants from 112 countries, the research identified four distinct psychological profiles of gamers: Avoidant, Engaged, Relational, and Dysregulated.
Each profile offers insight not only into how people play—but why.
Led by researchers from ISPA – Instituto Universitário and the APPsyCI Applied Psychology Research Center, this study takes an unusually inclusive and clinically grounded approach, aiming to give therapists and clinicians something far richer than screen-time limits or diagnostic labels.
“We wanted to understand not just problematic gaming,” said study authors Cátia Martins Castro and David Dias Neto, “but the full spectrum—including healthy, adaptive relationships with video games.”
Why a Gamer Is Never Just a Gamer
While video games are often dismissed as a frivolous escape or pathologized in headlines as the next public health crisis, this study asks a deeper question: What do gaming habits reveal about our inner worlds?
Drawing from self-report questionnaires on gaming habits, emotional regulation, attachment styles, substance use, and mental health, the study used a person-centered statistical approach to identify profiles.
Emotional regulation was assessed through a validated scale that captures how people manage distress, stay goal-focused, and maintain emotional awareness. Attachment styles—rooted in early caregiving experiences—were another key focus, distinguishing between secure bonds and anxious or avoidant patterns in relationships.
But what makes this study groundbreaking isn’t just the methodology or scale—it’s the inclusivity.
The sample included men (50%), women (43%), and non-binary folks (9%), and represented players from every major gaming genre. The authors were intentional about this diversity, making the findings more relevant to clinicians, educators, and even policy makers aiming to understand this digitally fluent generation.
Meet the Four Psychological Gamer Profiles
Avoidant Profile
Older, emotionally stable, and secure in their attachments, these gamers prefer single-player games and offline interactions. They engage with games for autonomy and recreation—not for social connection.
They use fewer substances and avoid social media platforms like Discord and Twitch. Despite the label, they’re not emotionally avoidant in the classic psychological sense—just more private, independent, and low on drama.
Engaged Profile
This was the largest group and resembled the Avoidant group in emotional health and Secure Attachment. But unlike the Avoidants, these gamers were socially connected both online and offline.
They used platforms like Discord and Twitch but were not consumed by them. Emotional regulation was strong, and their motivation for gaming came from enjoyment and community rather than escape.
Relational Profile
Here’s where things get more psychologically complex. This group played for social bonding and identity formation but reported emotional regulation struggles and higher attachment avoidance.
Their real-life social interactions were thinner, and they leaned heavily on immersive, socially interactive games.
Risk behaviors—like hallucinogen use—were more common, but overall psychological distress wasn’t as high as in the final profile.
Dysregulated Profile
The youngest and most vulnerable group. These gamers had high emotional distress, poor regulation skills, and both Anxious and Avoidant attachment patterns.
Gaming was more of a lifeline than a hobby—used for escapism and often accompanied by behavioral dysregulation and substance use (especially tobacco and energy drinks). Social connections were mostly online, with little offline support. This group showed the highest risk for developing Gaming Disorder.
What These Profiles Reveal About Gaming and Mental Health
One of the most striking findings?
Gaming isn’t inherently a problem—it’s often a reflection of deeper psychological patterns. “Non-problematic gaming,” the researchers explain, “can be part of a healthy emotional life, particularly for people with secure relationships and good emotional regulation.” The danger lies not in the medium itself, but in the function it serves.
This aligns with broader research on digital behavior.
Gaming, like social media or even food, can serve as a form of self-regulation—offering structure, distraction, or emotional relief. But when those needs stem from insecure attachment or unprocessed trauma, overuse becomes more likely.
From a clinical standpoint, this matters. These profiles may help therapists better tailor their interventions—not just focusing on time spent gaming, but asking deeper questions: What does this game mean to you? What role does it play in your emotional world?
Culture, Coping, and Control: An American Angle
In the American context, where gaming culture is simultaneously glorified and vilified, these findings underscore a uniquely modern tension: the video game as both sanctuary and symptom. For some, games are collaborative playgrounds, intellectual puzzles, or aesthetic landscapes.
For others, they are emotionally fortified bunkers—a way to hide from the terrifying vulnerability of human intimacy.
And yet, American cultural narratives around masculinity, emotional suppression, and performance-based self-worth may especially steer young men (and increasingly, young women and non-binary souls) toward profiles like Dysregulated or Relational.
When face-to-face vulnerability is shamed or inaccessible, the gaming world offers a predictable, often rule-bound escape—a place where achievement is measurable, identity is fluid, and risk is resettable.
Implications and Next Steps
The study isn’t without limitations.
It’s cross-sectional, meaning we can’t determine causality.
And it relies on self-report data, which can distort reality—especially in emotionally vulnerable populations.
But the researchers are already working on a longitudinal follow-up to track how these profiles evolve over time.
Their goal is to support clinicians in crafting profile-based interventions that recognize the complexity and diversity of gamer experiences.
This research opens the door to a richer, more humanized understanding of gaming.
Not as pathology. Not as panacea. But as a psychological mirror—reflecting what we long for, avoid, and crave connection with.
Be Well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed.
REFERENCES:
Castro, C. M., & Neto, D. D. (2024). Psychological profiles of video game players: The role of emotional regulation, attachment, and mental health. Addictive Behaviors. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2024.107745
Gross, J. J. (2013). Emotion regulation: Taking stock and moving forward. Emotion, 13(3), 359–365. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032135
Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P. R. (2016). Attachment in adulthood: Structure, dynamics, and change (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
Kardefelt-Winther, D. (2014). A conceptual and methodological critique of Internet addiction research: Towards a model of compensatory Internet use. Computers in Human Behavior, 31, 351–354. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.10.059
Schimmenti, A., Passanisi, A., Gervasi, A. M., Manzella, S., & Famà, F. I. (2014). Insecure attachment attitudes in the onset of problematic Internet use among late adolescents. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 45(5), 588–595. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-013-0428-0