The International Journal of Indian Psychology

ISSN 2348-5396 (e) | ISSN: 2349-3429 (p)

Volume 7, Issue 1,DIP: 18.01.063/20190701
DOI: 10.25215/0701.063
http://www.ijip.in | January- March, 2019
Research Paper

Development and Validation of PUBG Addiction Test (PAT)

Lancy D’Souza 1*, Manish S 2, Deeksha S 3

ABSTRACT
The present study aims at the construction and validation of a questionnaire to measure the
extent of addiction towards PUBG among the young adolescents and middle age groups. Due
to ease of access and cheap availability of internet along with unrestricted usage of
smartphones, there has been an increase in pathological use of technology and many growing
young minds are found to suffer from psycho-physiological symptoms. The authors framed
55 statements and collected data randomly from 494 individuals from diverse fields and age
groups. Subsequent to initial face validation, the questionnaire, which was subjected to 494
individuals, only responses from 455 respondents were considered for the development of
PAT, after filtering the inventories for completeness and erratic answering. Later, the data
were subjected to Factor Analysis and 7 components were derived, which included
components like disengagement, lack of control, excessive use, obsession, distress, escapism
and over enthusiasm & impulsive use. The total variance explained in this inventory was
54.94%. To find out the reliability, the Cronbach’s reliability test was done and the alpha
value obtained for the total inventory was 0.912 and for various components varied from .501
to .822. Further, when item to total scores correlations were performed; all the correlation
coefficients obtained through Pearson’s product moment correlation techniques were found to
be highly significant, indicating that the PAT has high reliability and validity. Even the
correlation coefficients obtained between components were found to be highly significant.

Keywords:PUBG, Internet, Addiction, Adolescents, Adults

The psychological community has defined Video game addiction (VGA) as a unique
behavioral addiction which is characterized by an excessive or compulsive use of computer
games or video games that interferes with an individuals’ routine life. Video game addiction
may present itself as compulsive gaming, social isolation, mood swings, diminished
imagination, and hyper-focus on in-game achievements, to the exclusion of other events in
life (Schivinski, et al, 2018).

During the mid-2013, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) did not agree to include
video game addiction in the 5thedition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders (DSM-V), by stating that there was inadequate proof to include the VGA as an

1
Associate Professor of Psychology, Maharaja’s College, University of Mysore, Mysore-570 005, India
2
II SS, M.Sc. Student, DOS in Psychology, University of Mysore, Mysore-570 005, India
3
IV SS B.A., Student, JEPSY, Maharaja’s College, University of Mysore, Mysore-570005, India
*Responding Author
Received: January 2, 2019; Revision Received: February 20, 2019; Accepted: February 24, 2019
© 2019,D’Souza.L, Manish.S, &Deeksha.S; licensee IJIP. This is an Open Access Research distributed under the
terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which
permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any Medium, provided the original work is properly
cited.
 Development and Validation of PUBG Addiction Test (PAT)

official psychological disorder. However, the anticipated criteria for "Internet Gaming
Disorder” was added to the section called as “Conditions for Further Study”. As of June
2018; The World Health Organization however, included “Gaming disorder” in its 11th
revision of its International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems
(ICD-11).

While Internet gaming addiction is proposed as a disorder, it is not clear as to how much this
disorder is caused by the activity of gaming itself, as opposed to a secondary effects caused
from other disorders already present. Contradictions in research examining video game
addictiveness may reflect more general inconsistencies in video game research (Griffiths,
2010). Few studies have linked aggressive video games with an increase in violent behavior,
whereas other studies have failed to find evidence for such links (Przybylski, Rigby & Ryan,
2010).

Player Unknown's Battle Grounds (PUBG) is an online multiplayer “Battle Royale” game
which is developed and published by PUBG Corporation, a secondary video game company
called Bluehole from South Korea. A battle royale genre of game is the type of video game
that mixes survival, exploration and scavenging items for survival in the game with the “Last
man standing” game play. The PUBG game was inspired by the Japanese film called “Battle
Royale” which was released during 2000. In the game, up to 100 players parachute onto an
island and scavenge for weapons and equipment to kill others while avoiding getting killed.
The available safe area of the game's playable area decreases in size over time, displacing the
surviving players into tighter areas to force encounters against each other. The last player or
team which eliminates the others get a chance to win the round, for which they are rewarded
with experience and bonus points which includes points for the number of people killed in
each round. PUBG received many positive reviews from critics as it presented new types of
game play that could be easily approached by players of any skill level and most importantly
it could be played with a different approach every single time. The game received several
‘Game of the Year’ nominations, among other prizes. Following the success many other
video games, copied the battle royale-style genre. PUBG Corporation has run several small
tournaments and introduced in-game tools to help with broadcasting the gameplay to
spectators. Following the Chinese publication deal for the Windows version, Tencent Games
and PUBG Corporation additionally announced that they were planning on releasing two
mobile versions based on the game in the country. The first, PUBG: Exhilarating Battlefield,
is an abridged version of the original game, and was developed by Light speed and Quantum
Studio, an internal division of Tencent Games. The second, PUBG: Army Attack, has more
arcade-style elements, including action taking place on warships, and was developed by
Tencent's Timi Studio. Both versions are free-to-play, and were released for Android and iOS
devices on February 9, 2018. The games had a combined total of 7.5 crore pre-registrations,
and ranked first and second respectively on the Chinese iOS download charts at launch. An
English version of Exhilarating Battlefield, localized simply as PUBG Mobile, was released
worldwide on March 19, 2018.

Unfortunately in just over a year of release there have been multiple reports flowing in on the
negative consequences the game has had on the individuals, especially the adolescents as the
effects can easily be seen through their academic, sleep, social and various other patterns. In
India, the cases seem to keep increasing. As on 6thAugust, 2018 it was reported on Hindustan
Times that a 15-year old boy was currently undergoing treatment for PUBG addiction. The
boy used play till late at night and started missing school. He would have over 1,000 friends
online and only a handful of them in the real world. The problem worsened when the boy was
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 Development and Validation of PUBG Addiction Test (PAT)

unwilling to recognise it as an issue. (https://www.digit.in/internet/15-year-old-boy-being-

treated-for-pubg-addiction-how-big-of-a-problem-is-it-42666.html)

In another instance, a 19-year-old boy, who was arrested for allegedly killing his parents and
sister, was addicted to online battle game PUBG, as quoted by a senior Delhi police officer.
Suraj alias Sarnam Verma killed his father Mithilesh, mother Siya and sister in the early
hours of Wednesday and later ransacked the house to make it look like a case of robbery. He
was arrested the same evening. (https://indianexpress.com/article/india/pubg-game-addiction-
man-kills-parents-delhi-police-5398568/)

In Jammu and Kashmir a fitness trainer began playing this game and within a span of ten
days was very addicted. According to various news reports, this man started hitting and
injuring himself by blows after completing each round and was hospitalised when people
noticed this unusual behaviour. According to one of the doctors, “The patient is unstable at
the moment and has partially lost his mental balance.” He furthermore added that he is still
not conscious and his mind is completely under the influence of the ‘PUBG’ game.
(https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/de-stress/warning-pubg-
addiction-lands-fitness-trainer-from-jammu-in-the-hospital/articleshow/67524427.cms)
The Jammu Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) requested Governor Satya Pal Naik to
immediately impose a ban on PUBG. Which according to them was “more concerning than
addiction to drugs,” said deputy chairman Raqif Mahkhdooi. Many schools in Bangalore
have already advised parents about the game’s addictive nature, as cases of addiction to
PUBG have been reported to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences
(NIMHANS).(https://www.news18.com/news/tech/pubg-addiction-what-makes-video-games-
unputdownable-and-lead-to-gaming-disorder-illness-2006065.html)
In the international scenario a young boy of age 13 years died after he jumped from a high
rise building in east China. The mother has blamed the cause of the death on a popular online
video game. The boy plunged to his death from the 4thfloor in Haimen city after midnight on
August 30. He was reportedly playing PUBG, on his iPad prior to his death. “The video game
caused my son's death. There is no other reason”, the devastated mother told reporters, saying
that her son jumped to see if he could survive like the characters in the video game
(https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6130317/Chinese-boy-jumps-death-building-
survive-like-characters-PUBG.html)
Few of the reasons as to why PUBG is a highly addictive game;
(https://mmosworld.com/5-reasons-why-playerunknowns-battlegrounds-is-so-addictive/)
• PUBG is easy to learn but hard to master
PUBG sounds plain enough and initially the player needs to just jumpoff the plane and head to
somewhere in the map away from the line-of-fire to find equipment and weapons. That’s the easy
part, which everybody can do; however, from there on, the competition drastically increases. The
players will need to survive the choice of sneaking into the play area, avoiding confrontation, or
go in all guns blazing with an aggressive mind-set. It’s that increasing difficulty curve as the
game progress that makes it addictive. The most important strategies include the decisions made
in the current match and which is different from those in the previous one. The type of weapon
chosen is crucial for the individual. All these questions get answered only with experience.
• Player Population
The game has lakhs of players across the globe. This simply means matchmaking takes little
or no time at all. That is always a plus point for any FPS or multiplayer game, as it lets you
binge-play.

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 Development and Validation of PUBG Addiction Test (PAT)

• Clear Progression
The players earn BP for playing matches and the BP rewards increase if the performance is
better. Finishing in the top 10, winning the match, getting more kills etc. are all ways to
increase BP. BP can then be used to purchase character customization, crates and more.
● Gradual Improvement
Because the number of players is huge, revenues are also at an all-time high. PUBG has
ploughed some of that back into the game, by introducing a new map and many other
improvements. The game is in a better state compared to its initial phases. Take cheating for
example. PUBG over the last few months have garnered a reputation for harbouring the
highest amount of cheaters in any FPS game ever. This has created a record. The developer
bans on average 10 lakh players per month for cheating.
● Something for All Levels
The game has taken a massive liking towards all age groups due to its simplicity and easy
gameplay. Battle Royale works because it is somewhat like a sandbox; each round will be
experienced in new and different way, with the same strategy resulting in various outcomes.
That’s what makes it addictive, and making majority of the players come back to it again and
again.

A review on measures of addiction on various social networking applications revealed the

following. Xanidis and Brignell (2016) developed a scale on Social media use questionnaire
to measured problematic media usage. To measure Facebook addiction scale, Bergens
Facebook Addiction Scale was developed in the year 2012 by Andreassen, Torsheim,
Brunborg and Pallesen (2012). To measure Smartphone addiction among adolescents, Kwon,
Lee, Won, Park, Min and Hahn (2013), developed and validated a scale. Escurra and Salas
(2014) developed a scale to measure social network addiction. None the less, Fidan (2016)
developed and validated mobile addiction scale using components of model approach.
D’Souza, Samyukta and Bivera (2018) developed and validated a scale for Instagram
addiction (TIA). However, the authors could not find any specific scale to measure addiction
to PUBG. A thorough search in this line did not yield any fruitful results. Hence, the authors
planned to develop and validate a measure to assess the extent of PUBG addiction among
adolescents and adults. The current study tries to develop and validate a PUBG Addiction
Test (PAT) having major components involved in the PUBG addiction to be considered. The
data was Factor analyzed so the components derived from the analysis can be finally used to
analyze the extent of PUBG addiction from adolescents to adults.

METHOD
Participants:
To develop and validate the PUBG Addiction Test (PAT) a total of 494 participants were
selected through random sampling from Bangalore, Basavapatna, Bellary, Chandigarh,
Chittoor, Coorg, Davangere, Delhi, Ernakulam, Goa, Jaglur, Kochi, Kodaikanal, Kottayam,
Kudremukh, Mangalore, Mumbai, Mylapore, Mysore, Pondicherry, Shivamogga and
Tripunithura; a total of 22 cities in India and finally 455 responses were considered for the
research. This included responses from the individuals were collected through Google forms
which consisted of 168 respondents. Out of the total 455 participants, 392 were males and 63
were females, and their age varied from 13 to 46 years. The participants’ consent was taken
while answering the statements on PUBG Addiction Test.

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 Development and Validation of PUBG Addiction Test (PAT)

Tool construction:
Initially 55 statements were developed by the authors confirming face validity (Table 1). The
test was developed on the basis of standard test construction measures. While formulating the
statements, several questionnaires/inventories/checklists related to addiction to various
gaming disorders were referred. 5 point Likert scale was used for scoring ranging from
Strongly disagree (5), Disagree (4), Can’t say (3), Agree (2), Strongly agree (1).To construct
the statements, assistance was taken from stakeholders like gamers, students, psychologists,
game experts, etc. Later the inventory was given to expert validation to three psychologists,
one educationists and one sociologist. After these subject experts established the content
validity of the statements pertaining to PUBG Addiction, the PAT was administered to
respondents from the age group of 13 to 46 years from multiple cities in India including male
and female respondents. To reach far off places even Google forms were used, the authors
got 168 responses through Google forms.

Table1 Initial statements/items

Sl.No STATEMENTS 1 2 3 4 5
1 I feel more connected to friends while playing a PUBG team match
with them rather than playing alone
2 I have had dreams relating to PUBG
3 I use a lot of tricks while playing PUBG
4 I collect and save money to purchase in-app items of PUBG
5 I play PUBG because it gives me a sense of accomplishment
6 I watch YouTube videos on how to improve my PUBG gameplay
7 I get frustrated when I cannot finish the PUBG game
8 I have less time to sleep because I play PUBG
9 I play PUBG to escape from problems
10 I play PUBG to relieve a bad mood (e.g., frustration, anxiety, or
depression, etc.)
11 I take part in the PUBG-competitions held by College fests/ online
companies
12 I have repeatedly tried to cut down the usage of the PUBG game,
but failed to do so
13 I have lost friendships due to PUBG game
14 I have neglected work/academics because of PUBG
15 I am tempted to play more and more PUBG after each game
16 I become restless when I am denied/ unable to play PUBG
17 I cannot sleep until I have played PUBG to my satisfaction
18 I have spent money to customize my avatar in PUBG
19 I tend to spend time customizing my avatar in PUBG
20 I prefer playing PUBG than going outside and playing
21 People have complained of getting distracted because of my unusual
behaviour (shouting) while playing PUBG
22 My teammates and I have a WhatsApp group to discuss
matters/issues of PUBG
23 I say "just one more game" to myself after finishing a game
24 I get irritated when someone interferes while playing PUBG
25 I feel my hands and body sweating as I survive for longer in the
PUBG game
26 I play PUBG to pass time

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 Development and Validation of PUBG Addiction Test (PAT)

Sl.No STATEMENTS 1 2 3 4 5
27 Playing excess PUBG causes headaches/pain in hand/fingers/neck
28 I have met people personally who I have befriended through PUBG
29 I feel energetic after winning the game which prompts me to play it
again
30 I get angry/frustrated when my friends do not cooperate while
playing
31 I have tried to cut down time on PUBG, but failed to do so
32 I want to discover new elements in the game
33 There has been a decrease in my job performance/ educational
performance after I started playing PUBG
34 I have uninstalled and reinstalled the game again and again
35 I get stressed out after playing PUBG
36 I play PUBG whenever I am frustrated or angry
37 My sleep has been disturbed, after I started playing PUBG
38 I feel restless or irritated if I am not able to play at least one game of
PUBG a day
39 PUBG makes me forget about the rest of the world
40 My friends/family have complained about my excessive usage of
PUBG
41 I have lied about the usage time of PUBG to others
42 I forget about my surroundings when I’m playing the game
43 I have befriended more by playing PUBG
44 I seek advice/discuss on playing PUBG better and enhance my
skills by experienced players
45 I become aggressive while playing the PUBG game
46 I feel disappointed when I lose the game
47 I feel compelled to kill more players in the PUBG game to gain
reputation among my friends
48 I have knowledge on the various gun items, protection gear, healing
items, etc. of PUBG
49 I feel inferior when my friends are in higher level than me in PUBG
50 My teammates and I have a dedicated time for playing PUBG
together
51 The in-game chatting/discussion for PUBG is crucial for me to have
control over the game
52 I recommend PUBG to people so that we can play together
53 I've observed that I have changed my routine to give more time to
PUBG
54 I lose track of time when I am playing PUBG
55 I often think of playing PUBG when I am doing other work

Analysis:
Once the data were collected through individual survey and Google forms, they were verified
for completeness, coded and fed to computer. Later the data were analyzed through Factor
Analysis using Principal Component analysis with Varimax rotation.

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 Development and Validation of PUBG Addiction Test (PAT)

RESULTS OF FACTOR ANALYSIS

When exploratory factor analysis was used for the statements employed in the research
following results were obtained.
1. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy value for the entire test
was found to be 0.940, which is found to be highly adequate. In other words, it
clearly indicated that the sample employed for the present study to perform
Factor analysis was highly adequate.
2. Secondly Bartlett’s test of sphericity with chi-square value of 9828.51which
was found to be highly significant at .001level. The total variance explained in
this inventory was 54.94%.
3. Using SPSS software windows, varimax of orthogonal rotation was employed
using PCA (principal component analysis). Factor analysis extracted 7
components out of 55 statements through rotated factor matrix.
4. Only 34 statements (out of 55 statements) were considered for the final version
taking into consideration factor loadings of 0.5 and above through rotated
factor matrix. The details of which are given in table 2

Table 2 Factor loadings (0.5 and above) and derived components through factor analysis
(Rotated factor matrix)
Statements/Items Components
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
S01 .620
S02 .554
S03 .714
S04 .538
S07 .508
S08 .603
S09 .631
S10 .744
S11 .631
S13 .604
S14 .503
S15 .653
S16 .587
S17 .552
S18 .642
S19 .530
S22 .533
S24 .629
S25 .614
S26 .671
S29 .633
S30 .500
S33 .604
S34 .708
S35 .593
S36 .554
S37 .498
S40 .554
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 Development and Validation of PUBG Addiction Test (PAT)

Statements/Items Components
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
S41 .542
S43 .569
S51 .557
S52 .506
S54 .523
S55 .515
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.
Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.
Rotation converged in 12 iterations
Finally out of 55 statements, 34 statements were retained on the basis of factor loadings and
remaining 21 statements were not included in the final version of PAT. After studying
statements under each component, authors provided component names.

Table 3 presents the selected statements for PUBG addiction under - components
Table 3 Statements selected on the basis of Factor loadings (Final version)
Sl. No. Original Statement/Item
No.
C1: Disengagement
1 07 I get frustrated when I cannot finish the PUBG game
2 08 I have less time to sleep because I play PUBG
3 14 I have neglected work/academics because of PUBG
4 15 I am tempted to play more and more PUBG after each game
5 16 I become restless when I am denied/ unable to play PUBG
6 17 I cannot sleep until I have played PUBG to my satisfaction
C2: Lack of control
7 33 There has been a decrease in my job performance/ educational
performance after I started playing PUBG
8 35 I get stressed out after playing PUBG
9 37 My sleep has been disturbed, after I started playing PUBG
10 41 I have lied about the usage time of PUBG to others
11 54 I lose track of time when I am playing PUBG
12 55 I often think of playing PUBG when I am doing other work
C3: Excessive use
13 47 I have befriended more by playing PUBG
14 51 The in-game chatting/discussion for PUBG is crucial for me to have
control over the game
15 52 I recommend PUBG to people so that we can play together
C4: Obsession
16 11 I take part in the PUBG-competitions held by College fests/ online
companies
17 13 I have lost friendships due to PUBG game
18 18 I have spent money to customize my avatar in PUBG
19 19 I tend to spend time customizing my avatar in PUBG
20 22 My teammates and I have a WhatsApp group to discuss
matters/issues of PUBG

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 Development and Validation of PUBG Addiction Test (PAT)

Sl. No. Original Statement/Item

No.
C5: Distress
21 24 I get irritated when someone interferes while playing PUBG
22 25 I feel my hands and body sweating as I survive for longer in the
PUBG game
23 29 I feel energetic after winning the game which prompts me to play it
again
24 30 I get angry/ frustrated when my friends do not cooperate while
playing
C6: Escapism
25 09 I play PUBG to escape from problems
26 10 I play PUBG to relieve a bad mood (e.g., frustration, anxiety, or
depression, etc.)
27 36 I play PUBG whenever I am frustrated or angry
C7: Over-enthusiasm & Impulsive use
28 01 I feel more connected to friends while playing a PUBG team match
with them rather than playing alone
29 02 I have had dreams relating to PUBG
30 03 I use a lot of tricks while playing PUBG
31 04 I collect and save money to purchase in-app items of PUBG
32 26 I play PUBG to pass time
33 34 I have uninstalled and reinstalled the game again and again
34 40 My friends/family have complained about my excessive usage of
PUBG
Each component can be briefly conceptualized as follows:
1. Disengagement: When the individual withdraws his/her involvement in a social
activity, amidst people or in a group due to usage of PUBG.
2. Lack of control: Due to the use, the performance or productivity of the individual
seems to be affected, they find it difficult to cut down the usage and spend a lot of
time thinking about games even when they are not playing, or planning when they can
play next.
3. Excessive use: Being secretive about the use and overindulgence of usage causing
disturbance to normal routine lifestyle.
4. Obsession: Intense passion towards the game and no track of time played, feeling
compelled to play more and search more items in the game.
5. Distress: Playing excess causes manifestations of anxiety and sorrow in the individual
when not able to play.
6. Escapism: Using PUBG as a source to escape from reality, forget about personal
problems, or to relieve uncomfortable feelings such as guilt, anxiety, helplessness or
depression.
7. Over-enthusiasm & Impulsive use: The individual has an excessive involvement and
this causes unwanted behavior patterns in the individual and also the individual
cannot control the usage and does not pay concern over the consequences.
Reliability Analysis
Further reliability analysis was done through Cronbach alpha for each of the component and
total items of PAT. This was to ensure repeatability of the PAT and consistency. The results
are shown in the table below.

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 Development and Validation of PUBG Addiction Test (PAT)

Table 4 Reliability coefficients for components extracted and for the total statements.
Component Name Statement/Item Number Total number of Reliability
Statements/Items
1 Disengagement 7, 8, 14, 15, 16 & 17 6 0.810
2 Lack of control 33, 35, 37, 41, 54 & 55 6 0.822
3 Excessive use 47, 51 & 52 3 0.601
4 Obsession 11, 13, 18, 19 & 22 5 0.735
5 Distress 24, 25, 29 & 30 4 0.690
6 Escapism 9, 10 & 36 3 0.645
7 Over-enthusiasm& 1, 2, 3, 4, 26,34 &40 7 0.501
Impulsive use
Total All selected 34 0.912
Statements/Items

The reliability coefficients varied from 0.501 to 0.822, which further confirmed that those
statements employed in the development of the PAT were highly reliable.

ITEM TO TOTAL SCORES CORRELATIONS

Table 5 Item to total correlation of the statements considered
Statement/Item Correlation Significance Statement/Item Correlation Significance
Number coefficient Number coefficient
1 .316 .001 18 .458 .001
2 .444 .001 19 .471 .001
3 .333 .001 20 .134 .004
4 .379 .001 21 .497 .001
5 .530 .001 22 .510 .001
6 .612 .001 23 .602 .001
7 .483 .001 24 .338 .001
8 .350 .001 25 .338 .001
9 .361 .001 26 .569 .001
10 .480 .001 27 .655 .001
11 .568 .001 28 .575 .001
12 .537 .001 29 .645 .001
13 .639 .001 30 .529 .001
14 .629 .001 31 .416 .001
15 .467 .001 32 .481 .001
16 .572 .001 33 .601 .001
17 .509 .001 34 .641 .001
The item to total scores correlations was performed through Pearson’s product moment
correlation techniques. All the obtained correlation coefficients were found to be positive and
significant at .001 level and varied from 0.134 to 0.655.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMPONENTS

Table 3 Inter component correlation matrix
C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7
C1 Correlation coefficient .696 .445 .560 .477 .471 .487
P value .001 .001 .001 .001 .001 .001
C2 Correlation coefficient .467 .534 .472 .432 .579
P value .001 .001 .001 .001 .001
C3 Correlation coefficient .321 .527 .406 .477
P value .001 .001 .001 .001

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 Development and Validation of PUBG Addiction Test (PAT)

C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7
C4 Correlation coefficient .311 .361 .453
P value .001 .001 .001
C5 Correlation coefficient .430 .415
P value .001 .001
C6 Correlation coefficient .370
P value .001

The inter relation between 7 components were found to be highly significant. They ranged
from 0.311 to 0.696. All of the obtained correlation coefficients were found to be significant
at .001level.

DISCUSSION
The foremost purpose of the study was to develop a questionnaire which measures the
addiction formed in PUBG. According to the various reliability and validity tests referred to
above, the PUBG Addiction Test (PAT) showed valid and good results. After Factor
Analysis, seven factors were obtained that were given proper headings/nomenclature. The
researchers requested few experts to retouch, correct and obtain the names of the various
factors, such as Disengagement, Lack of control, Excessive use, Obsession, Distress,
Escapism and Over-enthusiasm & Impulsive use. The reliability coefficients of the statements
employed shows that PAT is highly reliable with the coefficients which varied from 0.501 to
0.912.The test, which measures addiction in 7 components is highly significant ranged from
0.134 to 0.655. All of the obtained correlation coefficients were found to be significant at
.001level. High score on the individual components or total addiction reflect higher addiction
on PUBG.

Addiction of any nature affects the bio-psycho-social functioning of the individual

negatively. In today’s world the amount of technology addictions are on a dramatic increase,
and not even children are spared from the ill-effects of such addictions. PUBG addiction has
created more harm than good, which is clearly seen on the affected individuals and the users.
This study has also been aimed to identify and focus on the pathological usage of PUBG and
in no way the authors have intended to throw a negative light on the game itself, as it could
be used for entertainment and other creative purposes responsibly. Developing tests like PAT
have clinical implications to study the individuals’ extent of PUBG addiction and its impact
on psychosocial functioning, so that necessary strategies/therapies can be planned to help out
the individuals trapped in PUBG addiction.

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Acknowledgements
The authors greatly acknowledge the help of Mr. Michael Meshak, Mahajana’s College,
Mysore and Mrs. Sujatha, M., Head of the Dept of Psychology, Mahajana’s College in their
active support and help in data collection. The authors profoundly appreciate all the
respondents successfully contributed in ensuring this paper is in place. Their contributions are
acknowledged however their names cannot be able to be mentioned.

Conflict of Interest
The authors carefully declare this paper to bear not conflict of interests.

How to cite this article:D’Souza.L, Manish.S, & Deeksha.S (2019).Development and

Validation of PUBG Addiction Test (PAT). International Journal of Indian Psychology,
7(1), 562-574. DIP:18.01.063/20190701, DOI:10.25215/0701.063

© The International Journal of Indian Psychology, ISSN 2348-5396 (e)| ISSN: 2349-3429 (p) | 574