Previous studies focused on examining the interrelationships between social networking site (SNS) addiction and Internet gaming disorder (IGD) in isolation. Moreover, little is known about the ...potential simultaneous differential effects of SNS addiction and IGD on psychological health. This study investigated the interplay between these two technological addictions and ascertained how they can uniquely and distinctively contribute to increasing psychiatric distress when accounting for potential effects stemming from sociodemographic and technology-related variables. Methods: A sample of 509 adolescents (53.5% males) aged 10–18 years (mean = 13.02, SD = 1.64) were recruited. Results: It was found that key demographic variables can play a distinct role in explaining SNS addiction and IGD. Furthermore, it was found that SNS addiction and IGD can augment the symptoms of each other, and simultaneously contribute to deterioration of overall psychological health in a similar fashion, further highlighting potentially common etiological and clinical course between these two phenomena. Finally, the detrimental effects of IGD on psychological health were found to be slightly more pronounced than those
produced by SNS addiction, a finding that warrants additional scientific scrutiny. Discussion and conclusion: The implications of these results are further discussed in light of the existing evidence and debates regarding the status of technological addictions as primary and secondary disorders.
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 11
th
revision of the International Classification of Diseases, while ‘Internet Gaming Disorder’ (IGD) remains as a tentative disorder in the 5
th
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, Mean
age
= 13.44 years, SD
age
= 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.
Over the last decade, there has been growing concern about 'gaming addiction' and its widely documented detrimental impacts on a minority of individuals that play excessively. The latest (fifth) ...edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) included nine criteria for the potential diagnosis of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and noted that it was a condition that warranted further empirical study.
The main aim of this study was to develop a valid and reliable standardised psychometrically robust tool in addition to providing empirically supported cut-off points.
A sample of 1003 gamers (85.2% males; mean age 26 years) from 57 different countries were recruited via online gaming forums. Validity was assessed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), criterion-related validity, and concurrent validity. Latent profile analysis was also carried to distinguish disordered gamers from non-disordered gamers. Sensitivity and specificity analyses were performed to determine an empirical cut-off for the test.
The CFA confirmed the viability of IGD-20 Test with a six-factor structure (salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict and relapse) for the assessment of IGD according to the nine criteria from DSM-5. The IGD-20 Test proved to be valid and reliable. According to the latent profile analysis, 5.3% of the total participants were classed as disordered gamers. Additionally, an optimal empirical cut-off of 71 points (out of 100) seemed to be adequate according to the sensitivity and specificity analyses carried.
The present findings support the viability of the IGD-20 Test as an adequate standardised psychometrically robust tool for assessing internet gaming disorder. Consequently, the new instrument represents the first step towards unification and consensus in the field of gaming studies.
Although Problematic Internet Use (PIU) is an emerging area of study in psychology, little is known about the unique features of specific subgroups of internet users and their psychosocial ...vulnerabilities within robust and nationwide populations. The aim of this study was to identify distinct latent groups of internet users based on their PIU risk and to compare their psychosocial outcomes. To achieve this, a nationally representative sample of adolescents of the same grade (N = 1,066, Mean.sub.age = 13.46 years, range = 12-16) was recruited from several schools in Slovenia through stratified random sampling. A Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) revealed a two-class solution, with Class 1 (n = 853, 80%) featuring 'low PIU risk' participants and Class 2 (n = 213, 20%) including 'high PIU risk' participants. Behaviorally, the main feature of Class 1 denoted 'time management difficulties' while Class 2 was best characterized by 'mood and time management issues'. Further frequentist and Bayesian analyses indicated that Class 2 presented greater psychosocial risk compared to Class 1 due to significantly higher levels of PIU (generalized and across specific PIU subfactors) coupled with lower levels of subjective well-being and self-control. Contrary to what was initially envisaged, the two classes did not differ in terms of perceived quality in parent-child relationship. This study shows that PIU patterns and symptom-severity may be developmentally specific, further highlighting the need for clinically age-adjusted PIU screening practices within epidemiological and healthcare settings.
•The IGDS-SF9 was developed and its psychometric properties were examined.•The IGDS-SF9 showed satisfactory psychometric properties.•The IGDS-SF9 is suitable for measuring IGD.•APA’s internet gaming ...disorder criteria can be operationalized via IGDS-S9.•The IGDS-SF9 was developed to promote a unified research approach in the IGD field.
Despite the large growth on gaming behaviour research, little has been done to overcome the problem stemming from the heterogeneity of gaming addiction nomenclature and the use of non-standardised measurement tools. Following the recent inclusion of Internet Gaming Disorder IGD as a condition worthy of future studies in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-5, researchers have now an opportunity to reach consensus and unification in the field. The aim of this study was to develop a new nine-item short-form scale to assess Internet Gaming Disorder (IGDS-SF9) and to further explore its psychometric properties. A sample of 1060 gamers (85.1% males, mean age 27years) recruited via online gaming forums participated. Exploratory factor analysis EFA, confirmatory factor analysis CFA, analyses of the criterion-related and concurrent validity, reliability, standard error of measurement SEM, population cross-validity, and floor and ceiling effects were performed to assess the instrument’s psychometric properties. The results from the EFA revealed a single-factor structure for IGD that was also confirmed by the CFA. The nine items of the IGDS-SF9 are valid, reliable, and proved to be highly suitable for measuring IGD. It is envisaged that the IGDS-SF9 will help facilitate unified research in the field.
•Professional gamers had higher GD vulnerability compared to non-professional gamers.•Esports is associated with greater time spent gaming and GD prevalence rates.•The APA and WHO frameworks were ...investigated in the context of esports.•Measurement invariance was performed across both frameworks in professional and non-professional gamers.•Latent mean comparison among professional and non-professional gamers was conducted.
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) proposed ‘Internet Gaming Disorder’ (IGD) as a tentative disorder (APA framework) in 2013 and in 2019 the World Health Organization (WHO) has fully recognized ‘Gaming Disorder’ (GD) as a mental health disorder (WHO framework). These two frameworks have not yet been jointly investigated in the context of esports. The present study aims to investigate the feasibility of the APA and WHO frameworks for disordered gaming among professional and non-professional gamers and to ascertain the suitability of existing psychometric tools for use in esports. Methods: A sample of 5,734 gamers (Mage = 21.47 years, SD = 6.69 years; 6.94% female) recruited through an online survey prior to the COVID-19 pandemic that included an age and gender matched group of professional (n = 2,867) and non-professional gamers (n = 2,867) was investigated. Pairwise comparisons, measurement invariance (MI), and latent mean difference tests were conducted to distinguish the two groups of gamers. Results: Overall, professional gamers showed greater time spent gaming and prevalence of disordered gaming than non-professional gamers. Additionally, MI was supported and both disordered gaming levels and latent means were significantly higher among professional gamers when compared to non-professional gamers across both APA and WHO frameworks. Conclusions: Esports is cross-sectionally associated with greater disordered gaming vulnerability through increased time spent gaming and disordered gaming prevalence rates. Furthermore, the APA and WHO frameworks are viable in the context of esports gaming with existing assessment tools being effective in the assessment of disordered gaming in esports. The results and implications are further discussed in light of the extant literature.
Smartphone use is ubiquitous, however, scholarly debate regarding the addictive nature of smartphones abounds. In this context, it is integral to distinguish between the
that users experience and the
...that facilitates access to the former, as users may experience addictive-like responses to the specific activities they engage in through the context experienced rather than the device that facilitates access to these activities. The present study aimed to explore conceptualizations of smartphone addiction by (a) investigating user preferences for specific smartphone functionalities, (b) examining behavioral changes associated with limited access to preferred functionalities, and (c) exploring links between aspects of smartphone use and self-reported psychological well-being. A total of 471 participants completed an online survey, providing data on sociodemographics, actual and hypothetical smartphone usage, and psychological well-being (depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms). The results showed that communication functionalities were most frequently cited as being preferred among smartphone users. Notably, participants reported that they would check their smartphones significantly fewer times if their top-three functionalities were inaccessible. This suggests that smartphone users are likely to become addicted to the functionalities they access on their smartphones (
) and not the smartphones themselves (
), rendering unviable the notion of smartphone addiction as a construct. Further analyses suggested negligible to small correlations between aspects of smartphone use and psychological well-being variables. The findings imply that rather than focusing on frequency of smartphone use, it is recommended that future research examines the type and quality of specific smartphone usages and their effects on user well-being.
The umbrella term “Internet addiction” has been criticized for its lack of specificity given the heterogeneity of potentially problematic behaviors that can be engaged in online as well as different ...underlying etiological mechanisms. This has led to the naming of specific online addictions, the most notable being Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). Methods: Using the contemporary literature concerning IGD and cognate topics, issues and concerns relating to the concept of IGD are examined. Results: Internet addiction and IGD are not the same, and distinguishing between the two is conceptually meaningful. Similarly, the diagnosis of IGD as proposed in the
appendix of the latest (fifth) edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) remains vague regarding whether or not games need to be engaged in online, stating that IGD typically involves specific Internet games, but can also include offline games, adding to the lack of clarity. A number of authors have voiced concerns regarding the viability of including the word “Internet” in IGD, and instead proposed to use the term “video gaming disorder” or simply “gaming disorder,” suggesting addiction to video gaming can also occur offline. Conclusion: The DSM-5 has caused more confusion than clarity regarding the disorder, reflected by researchers in the field contesting a supposedly reached consensus for IGD diagnosis.
Disordered gaming has gained increased medical attention and was recently included in the eleventh International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) by the World Health Organization (WHO) after its ...earlier inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (fifth revision) (DSM-5) as an emerging disorder by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Although many studies have investigated associations between personality and disordered gaming, no previous research compared the differential associations between personality and disordered gaming with time spent gaming. Due to the novelty of the WHO diagnostic framework for disordered gaming, previous research focused mainly on the associations between personality and disordered gaming in relation to the APA framework. Beyond that, these studies are generally limited by small sample sizes and/or the lack of cross-cultural emphasis due to single-country sampling. To address these limitations, the present study aimed to investigate the associations between personality and gaming behavior in a large and culturally heterogeneous sample (N = 50,925) of individuals from 150 countries. The results obtained suggested that low conscientiousness and high neuroticism were robustly associated with disordered gaming across both the APA and WHO frameworks. Interestingly, personality associations with weekly time spent gaming were smaller. The findings of the present study suggest that personality is of higher importance to predict disordered gaming compared to weekly time spent gaming.
PDF
