The addictive use of video games is recognized as a problem with clinical relevance and is included in international diagnostic manuals and classifications of diseases. The association between “Internet addiction” and mental health has been well documented across a range of investigations. However, a major drawback of these studies is that no controls have been placed on the type of Internet use investigated. The aim of this study is to review systematically the current literature in order to explore the association between Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and psychopathology. An electronic literature search was conducted using PubMed, PsychINFO, ScienceDirect, Web of Science and Google Scholar (r.n. CRD42018082398). The effect sizes for the observed correlations were identified or computed. Twenty-four articles met the eligibility criteria. The studies included comprised 21 cross-sectional and three prospective designs. Most of the research was conducted in Europe. The significant correlations reported comprised: 92% between IGD and anxiety, 89% with depression, 85% with symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and 75% with social phobia/anxiety and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Most of the studies reported higher rates of IGD in males. The lack of longitudinal studies and the contradictory results obtained prevent detection of the directionality of the associations and, furthermore, show the complex relationship between both phenomena.

Internet Gaming Disorder is an increasingly prevalent disorder, which can have severe consequences in affected young people and in their families. There is an urgent need to improve existing treatment programs; these are currently hampered by the lack of research in this area. It is necessary to more carefully define the symptomatic, psychosocial and personality characterization of these patients and the interaction between treatment and relevant variables. The objectives of this study were three: (1) to analyze the symptomatic and personality profiles of young patients with Internet Gaming Disorder in comparison with healthy controls; (2) to analyze the effectiveness of a cognitive behavioral treatment on reducing symptomatology; and (3) to compare the results of that treatment with or without the addition of a psychoeducational group offered to the parents. The final sample consisted of 30 patients consecutively admitted to a specialized mental health unit in Spain, and 30 healthy controls. The experimental group received individual cognitive-behavioral therapy. The experimental group was divided into two subgroups (N = 15), depending on the addition or not of a psychoeducational group for their parents (consecutively admitted). Scores on the Millon Adolescent Personality Inventory (MACI), the Symptom Checklist-Revised (SCL-90-R), the State-Trait Anxiety Index (STAI), and other clinical and psychopathological measures were recorded. The patients were re-assessed post treatment (except for the MACI questionnaire). Compared with healthy controls, patients did not differ in symptomatology at baseline, but scored significantly higher in the personality scales: Introversive and Inhibited, and in the expressed concerns scales: Identity Confusion, Self-Devaluation, and Peer Insecurity and scored significantly lower in the Histrionic and Egotistic scale. In the experimental group, pre-post changes differed statistically on SCL-90-R scales Hostility, Psychoticism, and Global Severity Index and on the diagnostic criteria for Internet Gaming Disorder, regardless of the addition of a psychoeducational group for parents. Pre-post changes did not differ between experimental subgroups. However, the subgroup without psychoeducation for parents presented statistically higher drop-out rates during treatment. The results of this study are based on a sample of patients seeking treatment related to problems with online gaming, therefore, they may be of value for similar patients.

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The objective of this study is to present the psychoeducational program Egokitzen, a post-divorce intervention for parents and preliminary data on its efficacy, by means of a quasi-experimental design with a wait-list comparison group. This program-Egokitzen-has been recently published following years of development, pilot tests and adaptation, and comprises 11 weekly intervention sessions that focus on three major blocks of content: (a) divorce in itself, (b) interparental conflict; and (c) parenting styles and discipline. Thirty-four parents, with a total number of 51 children-aged 2-23 years-took part in the study. Participants completed measures of interparental conflict, family communication, perception of family relationships, parental symptomatology and children's aggressive and anxiety/depression symptoms before, after the intervention and 6 months on completion of the program. Significant differences were found in terms of the perceived conflict and children's mental health symptoms, especially in the 6-moth follow-up period. More structural variables, such as communication, family satisfaction or parent-child relationships, seem to require more time for noticeable change and stability. We can conclude that, even though the results are exploratory, the Egokitzen program is a very promising initiative for helping prevent and fostering the healthy psychological development of children who are going through the parental divorce process.

Objectives: Transnational ties refer to the affective, communicative, and economic relationships that migrant families build between the societies of origin and destination. Investigations of such ties are very scarce. In the present study, focused on Latin American migrant women, transnational ties are considered a protective factor of family functioning, conditioned by premigratory variables. The working hypothesis is that increased frequency of reunited mothers' communication with and remittances to their children during the period of separation prior to the reunion will be linked to better communication, cohesion, flexibility, satisfaction, and family resources, according to the reunited mothers' perception. Method: The sample consisted of 81 mothers of Latin American reunited families. Most of them (61.7%) have 2 or 3 children and 75.3% have already reunited all of their children in Bizkaia. The frequency of communication between family members in the societies of origin and destination and the frequency of remittances were the transnational variables. To observe family functioning, we used the Circumplex Model. A mediation model was tested through structural equation modeling. Results: The results of the study confirmed the mediator role of the transnational variables, especially the frequency of transnational communications, partially or fully moderating the impact of the premigratory variables, and positively associated with family functioning, in terms of greater cohesion, flexibility, communication, satisfaction, and perception of resources. Conclusions: This study has highlighted the role of these ties, which lead to more functional family dynamics. It is necessary to promote new forms of transnational communication that favor subsequent family reunification. Public Significance StatementTransnational ties mediate the impact of the premigration variables and contribute to more functional family dynamics. The frequency of transnational communications, in the first place, and the frequency of remittances, in second place, are strategies to connect with the loved ones in the country of origin that are associated with family functioning in terms of greater cohesion, flexibility, communication, satisfaction and perception of resources of reunited families. New forms of transnational communication that favor subsequent family reunification must be promoted.