{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T06:31:28Z","timestamp":1787725888375,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":53,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787702400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychiatry"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Escapism is a key gaming motive associated with both psychological relief and Gaming Disorder (GD). Yet, existing models often neglect the dynamic role of goal attainment shaping gaming outcomes. Drawing on Goal Systems Theory, we introduce the construct of Post-Gaming Return (PGR)\u2014a state reflecting successful psychological transition from gameplay to real life\u2014as a potential explanatory mechanism of adaptive and maladaptive escapist play.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Two studies were conducted with active gamers (Study 1: N\u00a0=\u00a0259; Study 2: N\u00a0=\u00a0193). Participants completed the PGR scale along with validated measures of escapism, mood, need satisfaction and frustration, vitality, life satisfaction, and GD symptoms. Regression analyses tested the predictive and discriminant validity of PGR across samples.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>PGR was positively associated with post-game positive mood and need satisfaction, and negatively with negative mood and need frustration. In both studies, PGR was associated with higher vitality and lower GD symptoms beyond escapism motives. The two PGR subscales\u2014ease of disengagement from the game and ease of re-engagement in daily activities\u2014differentially predicted outcomes: disengagement was the strongest negative predictor of GD, while re-engagement was associated with vitality and life satisfaction. In Study 2, PGR showed weak associations with general mood and apathy. Across samples, PGR and IGD were strongly related but better represented as distinct latent factors, and PGR explained additional variance in several adaptive and maladaptive outcomes beyond IGD symptoms.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The findings support a shift from static motivation-based models toward a dynamic goal-resolution framework. PGR captures key post-gaming processes and may help distinguish between more adaptive and more maladaptive forms of escapist play. It offers a novel tool for assessing post-game regulatory disengagement in gaming.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2026.1735108","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T06:03:31Z","timestamp":1787724211000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Post-gaming return to reality: a key factor in predicting the positive and negative outcomes of escapism"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Agnieszka","family":"Strojny","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Applied Psychology, Faculty of Management and Social Communication, Jagiellonian University","place":["Krakow, Poland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pawe\u0142","family":"Strojny","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Applied Psychology, Faculty of Management and Social Communication, Jagiellonian University","place":["Krakow, Poland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","unstructured":"Newzoo\u2019s Free Global Games Market Report 2024 | New Report Live"},{"key":"B2","volume-title":"International Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision (ICD-11)","year":"2019"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1556\/2006.2022.00053","article-title":"Gaming motivations and gaming disorder symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"11","author":"B\u00e4cklund","year":"2022","journal-title":"J Behav Addict"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2196\/23700","article-title":"The associations between gaming motivation and internet gaming disorder: systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"9","author":"Wang","year":"2022","journal-title":"JMIR Ment Health"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"63","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-030-37643-7_4","article-title":"Four pillars of healthy escapism in games: emotion regulation, mood management, coping, and recovery","volume-title":"Game User Experience and Player-Centered Design","author":"Kosa","year":"2020"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.4324\/9781315175867-6","article-title":"A theory of goal systems","volume-title":"The Motivated Mind","author":"Kruglanski","year":"2018"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11469-021-00642-8","article-title":"Research directions in the study of gaming-related escapism: a commentary to Melodia, Canale, and Griffiths (2020)","volume":"21","author":"Giardina","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int J Ment Health Addict"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"996","DOI":"10.1007\/s11469-020-00422-w","article-title":"The role of avoidance coping and escape motives in problematic online gaming: a systematic literature review","volume":"20","author":"Melodia","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int J Ment Health Addict"},{"key":"B9","first-page":"19","article-title":"Hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades: players who suit MUDs","volume":"1","author":"Bartle","year":"1996","journal-title":"J MUD Res"},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1089\/cpb.2006.9.772","article-title":"Motivations for play in online games","volume":"9","author":"Yee","year":"2006","journal-title":"Cyberpsychol Behav"},{"key":"B11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3758\/s13428-011-0091-y","article-title":"Why do you play? 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