Who Is at Risk for Problematic Video Gaming? Risk Factors in Problematic Video Gaming in Clinically Referred Canadian Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Both Internet and offline video gaming have become a normal aspect of child development, with estimates of children playing video games ranging from 90% to 97%. Research on problematic video gaming (PVG) has grown substantially in the last decade. Much of that research has focused on community samples, while research on clinically referred children and youth is lacking. The present study includes 5820 clinically referred children and youth across 44 mental health agencies, assessed using the interRAI Child and Youth Mental Health Assessment. Logistic regression analyses revealed that older age, male sex, extreme shyness, internalizing symptoms, externalizing symptoms, and poor relational strengths are all significant predictors of problematic video gaming (PVG). Further analyses suggested that, out of the internalizing symptoms, anhedonia was predictive of PVG in both males and females, but depressive symptoms and anxiety were not predictive of PVG when controlling for other variables in the model. Moreover, proactive aggression and extreme shyness were predictive of PVG in males, but not in females. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Sex differences in youth with mental health problems in inpatient, outpatient and youth justice settings

“…Additional items related to control interventions (e.g., restraint use), discharge planning and resources available upon discharge were included within the inpatient assessment. InterRAI instruments have been utilized for a wide variety of children and youth with different presenting concerns [45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52], including youth in conflict with the law [53]. For the purposes of this study, only information that was common across all instruments were utilized.…”

Perceptions of adolescents concerning pathological video games use: a qualitative study

“…Some personality traits and psychological pro les are also linked to pathological use. Introversion, shyness, and impulsiveness are most often associated with pathological uses [22,23]. Pathological gamers tend to have lower self-esteem [21].…”

Cybersucht

“…Junge Männer sind von Computerspielsucht circa zehnmal häufiger betroffen als junge Frauen (Rehbein et al, 2010). Risikofaktoren sind neben dem Geschlecht Schüchternheit, internalisierende und externalisierende psychiatrische Symptome und mangelnde Fähigkeiten, Beziehungen zu gestalten (Lau et al, 2018).…”