Internet Gaming Disorder in adolescence: investigating profiles and associated risk factors

Abstract

Background Electronic gaming is a popular free-time activity and its deleterious effects have been considered by the American Psychiatric Association and World Health Organization. More recently ‘Gaming Disorder’ (GD) has been added to the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases, while ‘Internet Gaming Disorder’ (IGD) remains as a tentative disorder in the 5th revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. This study aimed to explore the characteristics of young gamers at risk for developing IGD. Methods To achieve this, a quantitative and nationally representative study was conducted in primary schools in Slovenia with eighth grade as the primary sampling unit (N = 1071, Meanage = 13.44 years, SDage = 0.59). Psychometric testing assessing IGD was conducted to identify participants’ IGD risk levels and to compare ‘high risk gamers’, ‘low risk gamers’, and ‘non-gamers’ in relation to free-time activities, self-control, and parent-child relationship. A one-way ANOVA analysis was conducted with Games-Howell post-hoc test to compare the three groups of participants. Statistically significant IGD factors were then included in a multinomial logistic regression analysis to identify the most relevant predictors of IGD. Results About 4.7% (n = 48) [95% CI: 3.4–6.0%] of Slovenian adolescents were found to be ‘high risk gamers’ when considering risk of IGD. These were mostly males (n = 42, 87.5%), and their preferred leisure activities involved more screen time activities (e.g., watching TV, playing video games, using social media). Moreover, ‘high risk gamers’ showed significantly lower levels of self-control compared to ‘low risk gamers’, and poorer understanding with their parents. Perceived satisfaction with life and mental health did not differ significantly between the three groups. The multinomial logistic regression identified four key predictors of IGD: male gender, gaming as a frequent free-time activity, attending music school or a choir and self-control. Conclusion Public health measures should target adolescents at increased risk of developing IGD in early age because they are particularly drawn to excessive gaming behaviors and present greater IGD vulnerability.

Adolescents with Internet Gaming Disorder are more likely to have Lower Score of Cognitive Function: A Cross-sectional Study among Junior High School Students in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

“…Individuals with IGD were associated with longer time of gaming duration [9], [43], [44]. In the present study, we found no association between gaming duration and cognitive function.…”

Biopsychosocial factors of gaming disorder: A systematic review employing screening tools with well-defined psychometric properties

“…On the other hand, one study found a positive correlation between self-reported impulsivity levels and IGD (Cerniglia et al, 2019). Macur and Pontes (2021) reported that gamers with a high IGD risk presented significantly lower levels of self-control compared to low-risk gamers or non-gamers. In terms of reward-related decisions, Moudiab and Spada (2019) found that overvaluing of gaming rewards predicted IGD severity (c.f., Acuff et al, 2021).…”

Escapism-Based Motivation Affected the Psychological Performances of High-Risk Internet Gaming Disorder Individuals

“…Such individuals are seen as high risk of IGD (HIGD). Although there is no unified definition of HIGD till now, some scales were successfully used in the screening of HIGD, such as the nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form (IGDS9-SF) ( 10 ), Internet Gaming Disorder Questionnaire (IGDQ) ( 11 ), and Chen Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS) ( 12 ). According to epidemiological surveys in various countries, the proportion of the HIGD population in the total population is approximately 9.0–11.5%, which is significantly higher than that of IGD sufferers ( 13 , 14 ).…”