Highlights This study showed a prevalence measure of addicted gamers as 1.2 percent. Male gender was associated to problematic and addictive gaming. Young age was associated with both engaged-, problem- and addictive gaming. Hours spent on chatting was associated with both engaged-, problem- and addictive gaming. Loneliness was associated with both engaged-, problem- and addictive gaming.

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Background Young people’s daily lives and social interactions changed remarkably during the COVID-19 pandemic as schools and cinemas closed, leisure activities were cancelled, and gatherings were regulated. Questions have been raised by the media, schools, policy makers, and research communities about the effect on young people’s online behaviors. Objective This cross-sectional study aimed to study self-reported changes in gaming, focusing on a younger section of the population during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden. We also wanted to look at potential risk factors behind problematic gaming during the pandemic, including gaming patterns, gambling behavior, psychological distress, certain sociodemographic characteristics, health factors, and school situation. Methods This was an anonymous online survey study of web panel participants in Sweden (n=1501) to study changes in gaming behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Self-reported increases in gaming were analyzed in logistic regression analyses against sociodemographic and health factors. Results Within the study population that reported changes in gaming activity, we found significant differences in age, employment status, disposable income, whether they ever played on loot boxes, time spent at home, school attendance, psychological distress, and gambling and gaming problems, as well as significant differences in changes in alcohol consumption and exercise habits. When examining the 16–24-year-old age group who reported changes in gaming activity, we found significant differences within the group in disposable income, time at home, and school attendance. When examining the 25–39-year-old age group who reported changes in gaming activity, we found significant differences within the group in employment status, disposable income, time spent at home, whether the respondents were studying, school attendance level, psychological distress, and gaming problems, as well as significant differences in changes in alcohol consumption and exercise habits. Psychological distress (all age groups analyzed together; 25–39-year-old age group), drinking less alcohol (all age groups analyzed together), spending more time at home (all age groups analyzed together), gaming problems, and exercising less (25–39-year-old age group) were positively correlated with a self-reported increase in gaming activity. Being employed (25–39-year-old age group) and being over 40 years of age (all age groups analyzed together) were negatively correlated with increased gaming. We found no significant correlations in the 16–24-year-old age group. Conclusions Those who reported increased gaming during the COVID-19 pandemic were more likely to be 16 years to 39 years old. In the age group of 25 years to 39 years old, the increase was associated with psychological distress, reporting less exercise, and being unemployed. COVID-19 may present as a risk factor of increased online gaming in a small but vulnerable group. More research and preferably longitudinal studies are needed in the field of gaming and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fear has been assigned a central role in models of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but empirical investigations into the emotions that underpin OCD symptoms are few, especially in pediatric samples. Using validated, clinician-led structured interviews, 124 youth with OCD reported on the presence and severity of symptoms across the main symptom dimensions of OCD (aggressive, symmetry, contamination) and the degree to which fear, incompleteness, and disgust accompanied these symptoms. For comparison purposes, the degree of fear, incompleteness, and disgust during symptoms was obtained also from youth with social anxiety disorder (SAD; n = 27) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD; n = 28). Participants with OCD reported that all three emotions were involved in their symptoms; however, fear was most strongly linked to aggressive symptoms, incompleteness to symmetry symptoms, and disgust to contamination symptoms. Incompleteness differentiated youth with OCD from those with SAD and GAD. No differences for these emotions were found for youth with OCD with versus without the tic-disorder subtype or comorbid autism. A positive association between incompleteness and self-reported hoarding emerged among youth with OCD. Further studies of the emotional architecture of pediatric OCD, and its relationship to etiology and treatment, are warranted.

There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may be sub-typed along different symptom dimensions. These dimensions may help explain responsiveness to current treatments. The Dimensional Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DY-BOCS) is a validated instrument involving a self-report screening tool followed by a structured interview in which the presence/absence and severity of OCD symptom dimensions are assessed and rated. The present study investigated the validity of a briefer, interview-only version of the DY-BOCS modified for use in routine care. Clinically-referred children and adolescents (N=119) with OCD were administered the DY-BOCS along with other measures of OCD, anxiety, depression, and overall functioning and a subset (N=100) were reassessed on average 14 months after initial assessment. This briefer, interview-only version of the DY-BOCS demonstrated high levels of internal consistency and correlated in the moderate to strong range with alternative measures of OCD severity and OCD symptom dimensions. Change scores on the DY-BOCS from baseline to follow-up were significantly correlated with change scores on the alternative measures of OCD and clinician-rated improvement, suggesting that this brief version of the DY-BOCS is valid and sensitive to the effects of treatment for OCD delivered in routine clinical care.