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The Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short-Form (IGDS9-SF) is among the best with regard to its psychometric properties. Therefore, clinical psychologists are likely guided to use the IGDS9-SF if they want to assess or screen the disordered gaming in their practice. However, the information, especially psychometric evidence, concerning the IGDS9-SF has not been fully examined and summarized. This systematic review evaluated the psychometric properties of different language versions of the IGDS9-SF and assessed its methodological quality in order to improve the clinicians' understanding of the IGDS9-SF and facilitate its use. Systematic literature searches were carried out using Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Web of Science. The review included English-language studies of any research design that have reported at least one psychometric property of the IGDS9-SF, as defined by the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstrument (COSMIN), and have aimed at testing the psychometric properties of the IGDS9-SF. In total, 21 studies comprising 15 language versions of the IGDS9-SF were included. Overall, the IGDS9-SF showed adequate internal consistency (although some items did not have satisfactory item-total correlation [IT]), excellent criterion validity, and the ability to distinguish different subgroups with measurement invariance being supported across gender and age. In terms of factor structure, the IGDS9-SF was shown to have a unidimensional factor structure across all 21 studies. Although there is insufficient evidence regarding the responsiveness and properties of the IGDS9-SF using item response theory, the existing evidence supports its use in assessing disordered gaming among individuals.

Online gaming is a very common form of leisure among adolescents and young people, although its excessive and/or compulsive use is associated with psychological impairments in a minority of gamers. The latest (fifth) edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5, Section III) tentatively introduced Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). Since then, a number of evaluation tools using the DSM-5 criteria have been developed, including the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale–Short Form (IGDS9-SF). The main objective of this study was to translate and adapt the IGDS9-SF into Spanish, as well as to obtain indicators relating to its validity and reliability. The Spanish version of four scales were administered: IGDS9-SF, Mobile Phone-Related Experiences Questionnaire (CERM), Online Gambling Disorder Questionnaire (OGD-Q), and KIDSCREEN-27. The sample comprised 535 Vocational Training students (mean age 18.35 years; SD±2.13; 78.5% males) who reported playing video games in the past 12 months. Confirmatory factor analysis yielded a one-dimensional model with a good fit while the reliability indicators were satisfactory. Findings indicated that 1.9% of gamers were classified with IGD (meeting five or more criteria for more than 12 months). Additionally, another 1.9% were considered gamers ‘at-risk’ because they endorsed four criteria. Positive and significant relationships were found between the IGDS9-SF, the CERM, and the OGD-Q. Participants classified with IGD had poorer health-related quality of life. In conclusion, the Spanish IGDS9-SF is a valid and reliable instrument to assess IGD according to the DSM-5.

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) included internet game disorder (IGD) in section III of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fifth Edition (DSM-5) on the condition that it guaranteed more clinical research and experience. The World Health Organization (WHO) also included Game Disorder (GD) in the 11th final revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) and recently recognized it as a diagnosis code. This study aims to compare clinical characteristics and gaming behavior patterns between the IGD diagnosis criteria proposed by the DSM-5 and the GD diagnosis criteria proposed by the ICD-11 based on clinical cohort data (c-CURE: clinic-Cohort for Understanding of internet addiction Rescue factors in Early life) obtained in the Republic of Korea. Psychologists and psychiatrists conducted semi-structured interviews with children/adolescents and their caregivers to identify IGD (Diagnostic Interview for Internet, Game, SNS, etc. Addiction, DIA), and comorbid psychiatric disorders (Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Present and Lifetime Version-Korean version, K-SADS-PL). The cohort was divided into three IGD diagnosis groups (Normal, DSM5, DSM5 + ICD11) based on DSM-5 and ICD-11 diagnosis criteria. Internet usage pattern and addiction characteristics and psychiatric comorbidities were compared among the three IGD diagnosis groups. The Normal group consisted of 115 subjects, the DSM5 group contained 61 subjects, and the DSM5 + ICD11 group amounted to 12 subjects. The DSM5 + ICD11 group had a lower age of starting use of Internet/games/smartphones than other groups and the average time of Internet/game/smartphone use during weekdays/weekends was the highest. Also, in the eight items scored, excluding ‘deceiving’ and ‘craving’, the rate of threshold was highest in the DSM5 + ICD11 group, followed by the DSM5 group and the Normal group. On the other hand, ‘deceiving’ and ‘craving’ were the highest in DSM5, followed by DSM5 + ICD11 and Normal. The DSM5 + ICD11 group had significantly higher rates of depressive disorder, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD) compared to other groups. This study provides implications for the clinical characteristics of IGD diagnosis in the field by comparing the DSM-5 IGD diagnosis criteria with the ICD-11 GD diagnosis criteria. Furthermore, this study provides empirical evidence that ICD-11 GD emphasizes serious symptoms such as functional impairment caused by excessive Internet/game/smartphone use over a long time, and it supports the validity of the ICD-11 GD diagnosis.

School closures during the COVID-19 pandemic may have exacerbated students' loneliness, addictive gaming behaviors, and poor mental health. These mental health issues confronting young people are of public concern. This study aimed to examine the associations between loneliness and gaming addiction behaviors among young people in Hong Kong and to investigate how familial factors, psychological distress, and gender differences moderate these relationships. This cross-sectional study was conducted in June 2020 when schools reopened after 6 months of school closures. Participants included 2863 children and adolescents in primary (Grades 4 to 6) and secondary (Grades 7 and 8) schools (female participants: 1502/2863, 52.5%). Chi-square tests, one-way analyses of variance, and independent-samples t tests were performed to compare the differences of distribution in gaming addiction behaviors across gender, age, and other sociodemographic characteristics. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors that relate to excessive or pathological gaming behaviors separately, in comparison with leisure gaming. A total of 83.0% (2377/2863) of the participants played video games during the COVID-19 pandemic. The prevalence of excessive and pathological game addiction behaviors was 20.9% (597/2863) and 5.3% (153/2863), respectively. More male students had gaming addiction symptoms than female students. The multinomial logistic regressions showed that feeling lonely was associated with more problematic gaming behaviors, and the association was stronger for older female students. Low socioeconomic status, less parental support and less supervision, and poor mental health were risk factors for gaming addiction behaviors, especially among primary school students. Loneliness was associated with gaming addiction behaviors; the findings from this study suggested that this association was similar across gender and age groups among young people. Familial support and supervision during school closures can protect young people from developing problematic gaming behaviors. Results of this study have implications for prevention and early intervention on behalf of policy makers and game developers.

Research examining Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) has increased substantially over the past decade. One of the risk factors for IGD includes poor impulse control. The present study comprises the first ever systematic review of studies examining the relationship between IGD and impusivity utilizing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. A literature search was conducted via EBSCO (which included the following academic databases: Academic Search Complete, PsycARTICLES, and PsycINFO), PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and Wiley Online Library. The inclusion criteria were (i) publication date between 2000 and 2019, (ii) being an empirical study that collected primary data, (iii) written in English and Turkish languages (the two languages spoken by the authors), (iv) published in a scholarly peer-reviewed journal, and (v) conducted an objective assessment of both IGD and impulsivity. Following these procedures, 33 eligible empirical studies remained for evaluation in the present review comprising 18,128 participants in total. Results demonstrated that despite many methodological weaknesses, 32 studies reported a positive association between impulsivity and IGD. Possible explanations for this consistent finding appear to indicate that altered neurobiological structures detected in participants with impulsivity may explain some of the relationships between impulsivity and internet gaming disorder.

Purpose of Review With the ongoing debate about whether problematic online gaming (POG) constitutes a genuine mental disorder, it is important for all available evidence in the field to be accessible. In this systematic review, we summarize the numerous results related to POG published in Chinese in order to make them more accessible to the international community. Recent Findings We identified 36 relevant studies published in Chinese (7 epidemiological, 21 related to psychological factors, and 8 related to neurocognitive exploration, involving 362,328 participants in total). According to the literature, the prevalence rates of POG in China range from 3.5 to 17%, which is higher than those reported worldwide. Overall, the data published in Chinese are consistent with the international literature. Some distinctive findings emerged, however, in particular in relation to familial, scholastic, and social factors; cognitive impairments; and functional changes in neural circuits. Summary This review is the first to render available articles on POG in Chinese for the international community, which could contribute to the current debate on the status of POG as a genuine mental health condition. Crucially, findings from the Chinese literature often resulted from studies conducted on large random or clinical samples. This is important because a repeated criticism about the recognition of POG as a genuine disorder is the fact that the evidence-based results rely heavily on convenience samples of nonclinical participants.

The relationship between gaming and sleep is mostly informed by studies of addictive gaming behavior, thus limiting our understanding of sleep in the context of nonproblematic engaged gaming. The present study investigated whether addicted, problem, and engaged gaming behavior was associated with sleep duration, social jetlag, and difficulties falling asleep. The sample consisted of 13- and 16-year-old Norwegian adolescents (n = 3228) participating in the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) survey in 2018. Participants were categorized into addicted, problem, engaged, and normal/non-gaming behavior groups according to which GAS-7 criteria they fulfilled. Robust generalized linear mixed models with a random intercept for class ID were used to examine the association between the sleep variables and gaming behavior. Addicted gaming behavior was unfavorably associated with all sleep parameters. The findings for engaged gaming and problem gaming behavior were somewhat mixed. Engaged gamers slept less on weekends, less on weekdays for those aged 16, and experienced greater social jetlag compared to the normal/non-gaming group. Problem gamers experienced greater social jetlag and had higher odds of experiencing difficulties falling asleep. Overall, the results suggest that all types of gaming behaviors might harm sleep health, but to a greater extent for the addicted gamers.

Sue Acton describes the harms she experienced from gambling, and how she was able to get help

In May 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially included gaming disorder (GD) in the eleventh revised edition of the International Classification of Diseases . Although the video game industry does not accept the WHO’s decision to class GD as a genuine mental disorder, there is now arguably an onus on the video game industry to develop and undertake responsible gaming initiatives aimed at player protection and harm minimization. The present paper argues that the gaming industry does not have to “reinvent the wheel” as there are many responsible gaming tools and initiatives used by the gambling industry that they could implement (e.g., limit-setting, self-exclusions, personalized messaging, pop-up reminders). The paper also argues that like the gambling industry, the video game industry has an abundance of high-quality data in the form of player account data (i.e., behavioral tracking data) and that researchers should work collaboratively with the gaming industry to use such data to learn more about the acquisition, development, and maintenance of gaming and GD among its clientele. It is also noted that while there is the need for such cooperation, the integrity of independent research should not be jeopardized nor undermined in this process. In addition to the clear need of establishing a scientific partnership between gaming operators and researchers, the paper also outlines several steps and recommendations to improve the overall quality of research in GD.

The emergence, development, and maintenance of gaming disorder (GD) is the result of an interplay between gaming-related factors, individual factors, and environmental factors. None of these alone are sufficient to cause a disordered state, but it is the interactive co-occurrence of all these factors, which in some cases leads to GD. The goal of the present paper is to discuss in detail these three factors based on relevant and recent findings of the literature. Among gaming-related factors, we discuss online vs. offline videogames, the role of game genres, structural characteristics, game design elements, as well as some important monetization techniques. Among individual factors demographic risk factors, personality traits, motivational factors, comorbid psychopathology, genetic predisposition, and neurobiological processes are considered. Finally, among environmental factors we discuss family factors, early life experiences, the role of peers and school-related factors, as well as the broader context of culture including the popularity of esports. •The development of gaming disorder is a complex process.•Gaming disorder is the result of an interplay between three factors.•These are: gaming-related factors, individual factors, and environmental factors.•Prevention and intervention of gaming disorder require multi-professional action.