Mobile Game Addiction and Academic Achievement among Senior High School Students: A Convergent Mixed-Methods Study in a Philippine Public School

This study employed a Convergent Mixed-Methods Design to examine how mobile gaming influences students’ behaviour, study habits, physical well-being, and academic obligations within a senior high school educational context. The quantitative component involved 58 Grade 11 students from Section Punzalan in the Philippines who answered a 10-item Likert-scale survey assessing gaming habits, academic distractions, sleep problems, physical symptoms, and coping strategies. Data were analyzed using weighted means, frequency distributions, and Pearson’s correlations. The qualitative component consisted of semi-structured interviews with ten purposively selected participants. The thematic analysis revealed three major themes: (1) gaming for enjoyment and escape, (2) physical discomfort and sleep loss, and (3) difficulty managing academic responsibilities alongside failed attempts at self-regulation. Triangulation indicated strong convergence between quantitative patterns and students’ personal narratives. Unlike prior studies that rely primarily on survey-based correlations, this study integrates students’ lived experiences to explain the persistence of academic disengagement and the erosion of effective learning behaviors despite students’ awareness of the negative consequences of excessive gaming. Findings indicate that excessive gaming leads to reduced focus, sleep deprivation, decreased motivation, and academic neglect, thereby undermining students’ capacity to sustain productive learning routines. The study recommends enhanced digital literacy programs, guidance counseling initiatives, and the promotion of responsible gaming habits among learners to support academic engagement and self-regulated learning.