Emotional Dysregulation in Preschool Age Predicts Later Media Use and Gaming Disorder Symptoms in Childhood

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of early Emotional Dysregulation (ED) at preschool age as a risk factor or predictor of later media use behavior and Gaming Disorder (GD) in school age.Methods: 80 patients (63.7% male; mean age = 4.2, SD = 1.23) who had attended a special outpatient program for preschoolers at measuring point time t1 were contacted at measuring point time t2 (mean age = 9.2, SD = 2.03). At t1, the comprehensive clinical assessment comprised Child Behavior Checklist—Dysregulation Profile (CBCL-DP). At t2, parents completed a questionnaire on their children's media availability, usage times, and GD.Results: ED predicts a more intense use of digital media in the future. The daily average screen-use time at t2 varies significantly between the groups (148 min for children with ED at t1 and 85 min for children without ED at t1). The intensity of media use can be considered a significant predictor for the presence of a GD in dimensional assessment. When GD is classified categorically, according to the DSM-5 criteria, there is no significant correlation between ED and later GD diagnosis, neither between screen-use time and GD diagnosis. However, at dimensional level, preschool children with ED show significantly higher GD symptom scores at 9 years of age.Conclusion: ED at preschool age is strongly associated with time spent video gaming and GD symptoms 5 years later. Our results strongly indicate that emotion dysregulation in preschool children is a risk factor for later problematic video game playing behavior. This strengthens the concept of ED in the etiology of media use and provides potential targets for early GD prevention.

Emotional Dysregulation in Children and Adolescents With Psychiatric Disorders. A Narrative Review

“…Excessive use of computer or video games leads to impairments or distress depending on the amount of activity. As early as in the preschool age, the presence of ED has been shown to be a predictor of media use and GD symptoms 5 years later (at about age 9) ( 414 ). Difficulties in impulse control and a limited access to emotions is associated with problem video gaming ( 415 , 416 ).…”

Problematic Internet Use among Adolescents 18 Months after the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Furthermore, it is a known fact that deficits in emotion regulation can influence disorders, including different substance use disorders and behavioral addictions [ 27 , 28 , 29 ]. Therefore, maladaptive coping mechanisms and emotion dysregulation can increase the risk of PIU [ 30 , 31 , 32 ].…”

Not all games are created equal: Adolescents who play and spend money on simulated gambling games show greater risk for gaming disorder

“…Past-year gaming disorder was measured by the 9-item Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) scale, which was developed based on DSM-5 criteria by a workgroup of 12 international experts convened by the American Psychiatric Association (Petry et al, 2014). The Petry IGD scale has been used in numerous studies involving adolescents, including as a screening tool in an intervention study (Nielsen et al, 2021) and a 5-year longitudinal study (Paulus et al, 2021), as well as cross-sectional survey studies (King & Delfabbro, 2016;Shen et al, 2022). The Petry IGD scale is similar in content and structure to many other IGD tools, which have been administered to many thousands of adolescent participants over the last decade .…”