Jessica Hayburn

Background: The recent exponential rise in esports participation has stimulated growing interest in the performance, participation, and well-being of esports players. This research has culminated in several systematic reviews that provide an initial biopsychosocial perspective of esports players. The aim of our umbrella review was to synthesise and quality appraise these systematic reviews to provide a coherent understanding of the biopsychosocial factors affecting esports players’ performance and well-being. Methods: An umbrella review was conducted on literature published from 2010 onwards from six online databases to identify and examine systematic reviews within esports literature related to mental health and performance. AMSTAR-2 was used to critically appraise systematic reviews. Results: Fourteen systematic reviews were identified examining player performance (n=5), player mental health (n=4), and a combination of both factors (n=5). Four key themes were identified on esports player lifestyle, cognition, physical health, and gender-based concerns. Twelve of the 14 systematic reviews were rated low or critically low quality. Discussion: The results highlight the biopsychosocial factors related to esports participation showing a positive impact on cognitive functioning, a mixed-to-negative impact on sleep outcomes and physical activity, and discrimination towards female players. The low-quality reviews show a need for more rigorous methodology in esports research

Background and Objectives: The esports industry has continued to see exponential growth in recent years (Statista, 2023). Despite this growth, there are concerns about the experiences of women in esports, primarily female esports players. For example, women in esports often experience harassment and discrimination online (Ruvalcaba et al., 2018). In addition to anecdotal evidence, a recent non-academic, commercial survey also found almost 60% of female gamers have experienced abuse online, with 30% experiencing sexual harassment and exclusion from games (Bryter, 2020). Despite the clear presence of harassment within the esports industry, there is a lack of extensive, empirical research on the frequency and potential implications of such incidents specifically within esports literature on female players. This lack of research makes it challenging to fully comprehend the scale of the problem and develop effective strategies to address it. The aim is to investigate the extent of harassment experienced by female esports players and consequences on player performance and participation. Methods: A cross-sectional design will be used to conduct a prevalence and burden study (Capili, 2021) on current female esports players to understand their experiences of harassment through esports participation. An online questionnaire will be implemented to assess and examine the overall frequency of harassment experienced by female players, and the subsequent burden associated with their willingness to participate in esports, potential time loss in participation from harassment, perceptions of gender identity, and their self-rated performance. Results: Preliminary findings concerning the frequency of harassment and implications on female esports players will be discussed in the presentation. Conclusion: The project intends to address the gap in quantitative literature on female esports players, and potentially encourage stakeholders and governing bodies to consider what steps can be taken to develop an environment in which women feel safe to thrive in esports.