Alienation and the game dungeons and dragons.

The media has speculated about negative effects of the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons on players of the game. This study examined differences in feelings of alienation between 35 active players and 35 nonplayers. Fewer players expressed feelings of meaninglessness and more players expressed feelings of cultural estrangement than nonplayers. Other feelings of alienation between players and non-players were not different. Also, more committed players--those who spent more money on the game and played the game more frequently--expressed greater feelings of alienation.