Gaming among Children and Adolescents during the COVID-19 Lockdown: The Role of Parents in Time Spent on Video Games and Gaming Disorder Symptoms

Donati, Maria Anna; Guido, Cristiana Alessia; Meo, Giuliano De; Spalice, Alberto; Sanson, Francesco; Beccari, Carola; Primi, Caterina

doi:10.3390/ijerph18126642

Cited by 52 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…In particular, the current investigation suggests that playing video games in moderation may be a helpful strategy to cope with stress, aversive emotions, and loneliness during a lockdown situation, especially those that encourage physical activity and social interactions [ 20 ]. On the other hand, setting restrictions on the time, place, and content of video games seem to be effective strategies to prevent or reduce symptoms in those children who developed addictive behaviors in this pandemic period [ 45 ]. Parents should also foster alternative avenues for social interaction, meaningful leisure activities, and a wider repertoire of interests among their offspring to maintain the right balance with offline activities in their daily routines [ 44 , 45 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, setting restrictions on the time, place, and content of video games seem to be effective strategies to prevent or reduce symptoms in those children who developed addictive behaviors in this pandemic period [ 45 ]. Parents should also foster alternative avenues for social interaction, meaningful leisure activities, and a wider repertoire of interests among their offspring to maintain the right balance with offline activities in their daily routines [ 44 , 45 ]. Finally, it is important to ensure that young people have access to mental health resources and provide therapists with training on problematic media use to help them recover from the isolation and stress of the pandemic [ 42 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Changes in the Mental Health of Children and Adolescents during the COVID-19 Lockdown: Associated Factors and Life Conditions

Bosch

Pagerols

Prat

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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This study investigated the psychological impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among youth by analyzing their emotional/behavioral problems before and during the long-lasting lockdown in Spain. For that purpose, 699 parents with children aged 6–17 and 552 adolescents aged 12–17, who completed the parent and adolescent version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire at the beginning of 2019, responded to a survey from 26 May to 15 June 2020 that assessed psychological well-being and life conditions during quarantine (i.e., sociodemographic characteristics, situation before the lockdown, physical environment and accompaniment during the lockdown, COVID-related variables). According to both parent- and self-reports, children and youth experienced a significant worsening in emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, peer problems, and total difficulties subscales. Findings also suggested that impairment was mainly associated with variables related to the child’s situation prior to home quarantine, the quality and quantity of the child’s social networks during the lockdown, the daily routines the child followed, the concerns the child had about health, and the presence of economic and learning problems caused by the COVID-19. Thus, the present investigation emphasizes the need for carefully monitoring the mental health of younger people, provides guidance for the development of interventions that mitigate some of the psychological difficulties faced in a situation of confinement, and highlights the importance of paying special attention to high-risk groups.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in the Mental Health of Children and Adolescents during the COVID-19 Lockdown: Associated Factors and Life Conditions

Bosch

Pagerols

Prat

et al. 2022

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The increasing trend of gameplay time on mobile phones is evident, and the reason for the increased play time may be partly due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The mobile gaming industry has been growing drastically since its introduction with smartphones and earned a total revenue of $86.3 billion in 2020 [ 63 ]. As the gaming industry continues to prosper during the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be expected that, unlike internet gaming on a PC, the mobile phone gaming industry will continue to grow, attracting more adolescent players.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Addictive Internet Gaming Usage among Korean Adolescents before and after the Outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparison of the Latent Profiles in 2018 and 2020

Kim

Lee

2021

IJERPH

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Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the heightened risk of school closures and mental disorders has made adolescents particularly vulnerable to developing internet gaming disorder (IGD). There have been reports of increased time spent playing games on the internet among adolescents during the pandemic, and the risk of developing IGD may be higher for adolescents in South Korea as the majority of them play games on the internet. However, to the best of our knowledge, no studies have examined the impact of the pandemic on adolescents’ internet gaming behavior in South Korea. This study aimed to explore the different profiles of addictive internet gaming behavior among adolescents before and after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and examine how the pandemic influenced addictive internet gaming usage and time spent playing games on the internet. Nationally representative survey data from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family with 3040 and 2906 responses from 2018 and 2020, respectively, were analyzed. Using seven factors of a maladaptive gaming usage scale (tolerance, withdrawal, excessive usage, control impairment, compulsive usage, neglecting daily activity, and gaming despite negative consequence), a four-profile model was selected in both 2018 and 2020 for latent profile analysis: ‘casual’ gamer, ‘moderate’ gamer, ‘potential-risk’ gamer and ‘addictive’ gamer. The results from the two-way ANCOVA showed significant interaction between the cohorts (2018 cohort vs. 2020 cohort) and the four profiles on addictive internet gaming usage (F = 119.747, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.05), including time spent playing internet games on a PC (F = 22.893, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.013), and time spent playing games on a mobile phone (F = 3.245, p < 0.05, η2 = 0.02). The results indicated that the increase of addictive internet gaming usage and gameplay time differed by profile. The results imply that the increase in gameplay time was higher for profiles with higher scores in addictive internet gaming usage for internet games played on a PC while the relationship was not obvious for games played on a mobile phone. Despite the statistical significance, there was only 1.2% to 4.9% of mean difference in addictive internet gaming usage between the 2018 and 2020 cohorts, which implies little clinical significance. While adolescents of the four profiles showed no significant signs of increased addictive internet gaming usage, the addictive gamer profile demonstrated a significant increase in game time after COVID-19.

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“…This was also reported in an Italian study conducted during the lockdown, when gamblers reported not only a decrease in gambling but also the relief they felt because the restrictions meant they could not gamble as before [21]. Auer et al [19] confirmed this situation in a population of Swedish, German, Finnish, and Norwegian citizens, who reported no increase in gambling activity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 60%

Changes in Self-Reported Web-Based Gambling Activity During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-sectional Study

Claesdotter-Knutsson¹,

Håkansson²

2021

JMIR Serious Games

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Background The COVID‑19 pandemic has affected not only somatic health with over 3.7 million deaths worldwide, but also has had a huge impact on psychological health, creating what amounts to a mental health crisis. The negative effect of the pandemic on traditional addictions is well described and concerning, and the same has been seen for gambling. Objective This study explores self-reported web-based gambling behavior during the COVID‑19 pandemic in Sweden. We investigated overall changes, but also changes in specific web-based gambling types, and whether they are associated with certain risk factors or lifestyle changes. Methods Our study is based on an anonymous web-based survey of web panel participants in Sweden (N=1501) designed to study a range of behavioral changes during the COVID‑19 pandemic. Increases in gambling were analyzed using logistic regression models against sociodemographic data and psychological distress. Results The majority of the respondents who gambled reported no changes in their gambling habits during the COVID‑19 pandemic. We found significant associations with the problem gambling severity index (PGSI), the Kessler score (indicating psychological distress), employment status, changes in alcohol habits, and self-exclusion when looking at overall changes in gambling activity in the pandemic. In the subgroup that reported an increase in gambling activity, we found an association with both the PGSI and Kessler scores. The PGSI score was also an independent predictor for all specific web-based gambling (horses, sports, poker, and casino) whereas the Kessler score only had a significant impact on changes in casino gambling. In addition, male gender was an independent predictor for gambling on sports and casino gambling. Conclusions The majority of respondents who gambled reported no changes in their gambling activity during the COVID‑19 pandemic. The group that reported an increase in overall gambling activity during the COVID-19 pandemic represent a group with gambling problems and psychological distress. The group that reported increased sports and casino gambling were often male, and this group seemed to experience more psychological distress.

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Gaming among Children and Adolescents during the COVID-19 Lockdown: The Role of Parents in Time Spent on Video Games and Gaming Disorder Symptoms

Cited by 52 publications

References 79 publications

Changes in the Mental Health of Children and Adolescents during the COVID-19 Lockdown: Associated Factors and Life Conditions

Changes in the Mental Health of Children and Adolescents during the COVID-19 Lockdown: Associated Factors and Life Conditions

Addictive Internet Gaming Usage among Korean Adolescents before and after the Outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparison of the Latent Profiles in 2018 and 2020

Changes in Self-Reported Web-Based Gambling Activity During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-sectional Study

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