Internet Gaming Disorder Behaviors in Emergent Adulthood: a Pilot Study Examining the Interplay Between Anxiety and Family Cohesion

Abstract

Understanding risk and protective factors associated with Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) has been highlighted as a research priority by the American Psychiatric Association, (2013). The present study focused on the potential IGD risk effect of anxiety and the buffering role of family cohesion on this association. A sample of emerging adults all of whom were massively multiplayer online (MMO) gamers (18-29 years) residing in Australia were assessed longitudinally (face-to-face: N = 61, M age = 23.02 years, SD = 3.43) and crosssectionally (online: N = 64, M age = 23.34 years, SD = 3

Depression and Disordered Gaming: Does Culture Matter?

“…The present study provided findings indicating that gamers experiencing elevated symptoms of depression would report increased DG behaviors (H 1 ). This supports a substantial body of literature emphasizing the risk posited by symptoms of depression in developing addictive behaviors, particularly those of DG (Müller et al, 2015;Taymur et al, 2016;Burleigh et al, 2018;Adams et al, 2018;Liu et al, 2018;Stavropoulos et al, 2019b). More Specifically, gamers presenting with symptoms of depression may be at significantly higher risk of developing symptoms of DG than other gamers.…”

“…In addition to game genre and motivation, significant comorbidities have been supported between DG and other psychopathologies (Woelfling et al, 2008;Mihara & Higuchi, 2017;Pearcy et al, 2017;Kim et al, 2017;Adams et al, 2018;Liu et al, 2018), while addictions (such as DG) have been assumed to accommodate mood-regulation difficulties (Müller et al, 2015). In this context, depressive symptoms, including feelings of worthlessness, helplessness and hopelessness, difficulty concentrating, physical agitation (e.g., fidgeting), social isolation, and lethargic withdrawal from regular activities, have been strongly associated with addiction in general, and DG in particular (APA, 2013;Burleigh et al, 2018;Liu et al, 2018).…”

“…Aside from broader cultural dimensions, research has identified individual factors, such as gender, as concurrently implicated in DG and depression vulnerability (Burleigh et al, 2018;Adams et al, 2018). Understanding the distinct influences of gender variations has been repetitively emphasized in developing effective interventions.…”

“…Conversely, research has suggested that excessive internet gaming behavior places gamers at higher risk for real-life dysfunction (e.g., the loss of one's job) that would in turn precipitate and/or perpetuate symptoms of depression (Griffiths, Kuss & Pontes, 2016;Adams et al, 2018;Stavropoulos et al, 2018c). These interactions advocate bi-directional and cyclical associations, whereby symptoms of depression and DG can not only initiate and maintain one another but may also occur concurrently to exacerbate one another's severity (Stavropoulos, Kuss, Griffiths & Motti-Stefanidi, 2016;Liu et al, 2018).…”

Prevalence and Interpersonal Correlates of Internet Gaming Disorders among Chinese Adolescents

“…Family and parents play central roles in adolescents' socialization, behavioral development, and health [15]. Increasing studies have identified various family-related risk factors of IGD, including parental modelling of online gaming (e.g., parental gaming behavior [16] and parental attitudes [11]), poor parent-child relationship (e.g., perceived parental inconsistency [17], parental rejection [8], poor parental supervision [11,18]), poor family environment (e.g., poor family functioning [11], perceived family disharmony [6], and poor family cohesion [19]). Traditional Chinese culture and some Asian cultures emphasize parental psychological control (i.e., parental control that intrudes on the psychological and emotional development of the child) [20]; the attribute is a stressor and an interpersonal risk factor of adolescents' mental distress and behavioral problems [21][22][23][24][25].…”