Association between internet gaming disorder and loneliness: the mediating effect of suicidal and self-injurious behavior in adolescents

Abstract

Internet Gaming Disorder is a serious problem in the lives of young people. In adolescents (N=720), loneliness, self-injurious, and suicidal behaviors were tested as selected predictors of Internet Gaming Disorder symptoms in males and females. Suicidal behavior, self-injurious behavior and loneliness were not confirmed as predictors of Internet gaming disorder in men (p>.05). Self-injurious behavior, loneliness, and suicidal behavior were confirmed as predictors of Internet Gaming Disorder in females (R2 =.01-.04; p .05). Suicidal behavior confirmed a mediating effect between loneliness (β3 =-.035; p3 =.007) and IGD symptoms in females. The results highlight the importance of considering factors such as suicidal behavior and respondent gender that enter the relationship between loneliness and the development of Internet gaming disorder.