People With Autism May Use Video Games As A Way To Cope With Negative Affect & Burnout

Adult video gamers diagnosed with autism spectrum conditions who are experiencing "autistic burnout" may use video games as a way to cope with burnout and negative effects. They tended to use video games for self-suppression escapism when experiencing negative moods and self-expansion escapism when experiencing positive moods.

For this research, escapism was defined as a self-regulatory strategy—an act or activity—that shifts the focus of attention from an unpleasant reality to a more pleasurable unreality. They defined autistic burnout as exhaustion, reduced social skills, anhedonia, and withdrawal . . .