Does dispositional mindfulness moderate how individuals engage in their passions? An investigation into video games

The Dualistic Model of Passion (DMP) is an emerging framework in social psychology that assesses individuals’ passion for an activity. Although a passion parallels the definition for a serious leisure activity, the DMP further differentiates between a harmonious (HP) versus an obsessive (OP) passion, which are associated with adaptive versus maladaptive outcomes, respectively. Building on recent research in the area of mindfulness and the growing interest in problem video gaming, the present study explores the effect of dispositional mindfulness on reports of HP and OP. An online sample of adult video game users (N = 1,124; 68.95% male) completed assessments of their passion for video gaming as well as their dispositional mindfulness. Results revealed a negative association between dispositional mindfulness and OP for video gaming, but no association between dispositional mindfulness and HP for video gaming. Further, a moderation effect was found such that high dispositional mindfulness appears to protect against internalizing an OP for video gaming. Finally, results from a latent profile generally supported the role dispositional mindfulness plays in reducing the severity of OP for video gaming. The implications for theory and positive video game engagement are discussed.