User-Avatar discrepancy scale: a comparative measurement of self and avatar views

Taylor Brown, Lukas Blinka, Kara Dadswell, Rachel Kowert, Daniel Zarate and Vasileios Stavropoulos

Behaviour and Information Technology, 2025, vol. 44, issue 9, 1907-1924

Abstract: An avatar is one’s figure of representation within the virtual world. The user-avatar bond is suggested to carry information about who/how the person is in their real life. Discrepancies between an individual’s self and avatar perceptions have been associated with disordered gaming and reduced well-being, requiring assessment. Although several instruments purport to measure UAB, there is no targeted user-avatar discrepancy scale. To address this gap, the user-avatar views of 477 gamers aged between 11–21 years old (meanage = 16.39; SD = 1.6) were assessed across 15 dimensions, each defined by a pair of bipolar adjectives (e.g. strong-weak) rated on a seven-point scale. The optimum combination of scale items was concluded via a three-step validation procedure including (i) exploratory factor analysis, (ii) confirmatory factor analysis, and (iii) item response theory analysis. Findings supported a unifactorial user-avatar discrepancy measure composed of eight items, with social-desirability issues involving strength, physical abilities, and emotionality underpinning participants’ responses.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/0144929X.2024.2381603

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