The effect of methylphenidate on Internet video game play in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Online gaming addiction in children and adolescents: A review of empirical research

“…Moreover, online gaming addiction was found to be associated with lower grade point average and school performance (Chan & Rabinowitz, 2006 Regarding comorbidity, findings indicate a significant association between time spent playing games for more than one hour per day and Internet addiction, inattention, and number and intensity of ADHD symptoms (Chan & Rabinowitz, 2006;Gentile, 2009). Similarly, it was reported that 52% of children who had previously been diagnosed with ADHD were diagnosed with Internet video game addiction as well (Han et al, 2009). Moreover, the outcomes of pathological gaming included depression (Dongdong et al, 2011;Gentile et al, 2011;van Rooij et al, 2011), anxiety, and social phobias (Gentile et al, 2011;van Rooij et al, 2011), as well as physical health problems, such as hand and wrist pain (Choo et al, 2010;Gentile, 2009), and neglect of self-care (i.e., skipping meals, and insufficient personal hygiene) (Choo et al, 2010).…”

“…However, tolerance appears to play an important role in behavioral addictions because addicts need to increase their engagement (i.e., the time and effort they invest in engaging in the activity) over the course of time in order to experience pleasurable effects, which may be seen as a homeostatic restoration of balance within the body (Grüsser & Thalemann, 2006). Thus, online gaming is used as a form of self-medication (Han et al, 2009). With regards to excessive online gamers, both individual accounts of behaviors as well as empirical quantitative findings show that as their addiction develops, online gaming addicts spend increasing amounts of time preparing for, organizing, and actually gaming (Chan & Rabinowitz, 2006;Kim & Kim, 2010;King & Delfabbro, 2009;Lemmens et al, 2011a).…”

“…In order to assess online gaming addiction, six studies (Chan & Rabinowitz, 2006;Han et al, 2007Han et al, , 2009Kwon et al, 2011;Rau et al, 2006;Thomas & Martin, 2010) used an adapted version of Young's (1998) Internet Addiction Scale (Widyanto & McMurran, 2004;Young, 1996aYoung, , 1996b (1) tolerance, as defined by either of the following: (a) a need for markedly increased amounts of the substance to achieve intoxication or desired effect (b) markedly diminished effect with continued use of the same amount of the substance (2) withdrawal, as manifested by either of the following:…”

“…It was found to have good internal consistency, construct and discriminatory validity (Lin & Tsai, 1999). The samples used in these 18 studies included 72 adolescents in grades eight and nine (mean age = 15 years, SD = 1 year) as well as their parents (Chan & Rabinowitz, 2006), 62 children (mean age = 9 years, SD = 2 years) with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (Han et al, 2009), 154 male adolescents (mean age = 16 years, SD = 1 year), half of which were excessive Internet game players (Han et al, 2007), 161 secondary school students in Singapore with MMO experience (mean age = 14 years, SD = 0.7 years) (Dongdong et al, 2011), large samples (the respective sample sizes ranged from more than 800 to less than 5,000 participants) of Dutch adolescents (mean age = 14 years, SD = 1 year) (Lemmens et al, 2011a(Lemmens et al, , 2011bvan Rooij et al, 2010) and adolescent Dutch online game players (Ns = 721 and 3,048; age range = 13-17 years) (Lemmens et al, 2009;van Rooij et al, 2011), American youths (N = 1,178, age range = 8-18 years with equal gender and age distribution) (Gentile, 2009), Korean adolescents (N = 1,136, mean age = 14 years, SD = 0.5 years; 61% male) (Kwon et al, 2011), and Singaporean youth (N = 2,998, mean age = 11 years, SD = 2 years, 73% male), 64 children and adolescents (age range = 9-20 years) (Rau et al, 2006), 3,034 secondary school children (mean age = 11 years, SD = 2 years) (Gentile et al, 2011), 1,326 secondary school and college students (mean age = 22 years, SD = 7 years) (Thomas & Martin, 2010), 177 Taiwanese adolescents and young adults (age range = 16-24 years) (Wan & Chiou, 2006a, 2007, and 182 Taiwanese adolescent and young adult MMORPG players (age range = 16-22 years) (Wan & Chiou, 2006a), and ten Taiwanese adolescents with no explicit age specification with online game addiction (Wan & Chiou, 2006b).…”

“…Based on the database literature search, 18 studies were identified that assessed online gaming addiction by means of using adapted diagnostic criteria for pathological gambling and impulse control disorders not otherwise specified (Chan & Rabinowitz, 2006;Dongdong, Liau & Khoo, 2011;Gentile, 2009;Gentile et al, 2011;Han et al, 2007Han et al, , 2009Kwon, Chung & Lee, 2011;Lemmens, Valkenburg & Peter, 2009, 2011a, 2011bRau, Peng & Yang, 2006;Thomas & Martin, 2010;van Rooij, Schoenmakers, van de Eijnden & van de Mheen, 2010;van Rooij, Schoenmakers, Vermulst, van de Eijnden & van de Mheen, 2011;Wan & Chiou, 2006a, 2006b, 2007.…”