Electronic Gaming and Its Relationship with Marital Alienation: A Descriptive Study on a sample of Saudi Spouses

دراسة وصفية على عينة من الأزواج السعوديين الممارسين للألعاب الإلكترونية

Abstract

       The study aimed to examine the relationship between electronic gaming and marital alienation among Saudi spouses who engage in electronic gaming. This descriptive study employed the social survey method and included a sample of 199 participants. Data were collected using two instruments: participant observation and a questionnaire.

The findings revealed that more than half of the participants believed that electronic gaming negatively affects marital relationships.  The most prominent manifestations of marital alienation were feelings of isolation and reduced participation in marital life, whereas pessimism regarding the future of marital life was the least reported manifestation among participants.

The results also indicated no statistically significant differences in the degree of marital alienation attributable to gender. However, statistically significant differences were found with respect to  age and educational level, with the highest levels of alienation observed among participants aged 35 to under 40 years and those with intermediate or diploma-level education. In addition, statistically significant differences were identified according to the number of years of marriage, participants who had been most married for 10 to less than 15 years showed the highest levels of agreement on the first three dimensions of marital alienation. These findings suggest that excessive involvement in electronic gaming may serve as coping mechanism for some spouses to avoid challenges of married life. This, in turn, may reduce opportunities for effective communication between spouses and reinforcing feelings of emotional distance and alienation within the family