Traumatic Experience and Fantasy Roleplay Gaming A Bi-Directional Model?

Jenna Clark

Date of Award

2008

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Callahan, Charlene

Keywords

Roleplaying, Trauma, Gaming

Area of Concentration

Psychology

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of traumatic experience in fantasy roleplay gaming on traumatic stress symptoms. 150 roleplayers, 94 male, 51 female and 5 other completed an online survey measuring identification to a specific character, time spent gaming weekly, traumatic experiences in real life and roleplay, and traumatic stress symptoms. A two-part hypothesis was postulated; roleplayed trauma was expected to affect traumatic stress symptoms in individuals with high identification, and roleplayed trauma was expected to be correlated to real-life trauma. Roleplayed trauma was not a significant predictor of traumatic stress symptoms in any individuals; however, the interaction between character identification and real-life trauma was. Roleplayed trauma and real-life trauma were significantly correlated. In addition, the sample population was found to be higher on both traumatic stress symptoms and traumatic experiences than the general population. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

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