Gen Alpha in the Arena
The Parental Paradox in Mitigating Cyber-Trauma and Mental Health Risks in Online Gaming
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19483534 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mostafa Aboulnour Salem (0000-0002-9462-2446, King Faisal University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 181 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-12 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Sciences (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2076-0760 • E-ISSN: 2076-0760 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/socsci15030181 |
| OpenAlex | W7135010834 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 30 |
Cyber-trauma has emerged as an important concern within online gaming environments, with growing implications for children’s mental health and well-being. Multiplayer games increasingly function as routine spaces for interaction, competition, and informal learning, which may expose young players to hostile behaviours such as harassment, hate speech, exclusion, and repeated targeting. Understanding the psychological consequences of these experiences and the protective role of family support is therefore essential. This study investigates the relationship between cyber-trauma victimisation (CV) and four mental health outcomes—depressive symptoms (DS), anxiety symptoms (AS), perceived stress (PS), and emotional distress (ED)—among Generation Alpha student gamers, while examining parental support as a moderating factor. Survey data were collected from 1223 students of diverse Arab nationalities enrolled in schools in Saudi Arabia, with Saudi nationals representing approximately 15% of the sample. The results indicate that CV is a strong and consistent predictor of all examined mental health outcomes. Higher levels of CV are significantly associated with increased depressive symptoms (β = 0.58), anxiety symptoms (β = 0.55), perceived stress (β = 0.52), and emotional distress (β = 0.60) (all p
Anxiety · Distress · Mental health · Psychological distress · Psychosocial · Stressor · Victimisation · Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression · Digital Games and Media · Impact of Technology on Adolescents
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| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |