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Internet gaming disorder, aggression and psychological distress in young adults

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2022

B.R. Maia*
Affiliation:
Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Faculty Of Philosophy And Social Sciences, Braga, Portugal
G. Reis
Affiliation:
Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Faculty Of Philosophy And Social Sciences, Braga, Portugal
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Internet gaming has become a topic of interest since it has positive but also negative effects.

Objectives

To explore the relationship between internet gaming, aggression and psychological distress in young adults.

Methods

229 Portuguese subjects (55.5% females), with a mean age of 21.13 years old (SD = 2.075, range: 18-29) filled in the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form, the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire, and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales-21.

Results

The total score of internet gaming was of 15.90 (SD=6.32), 79.9% (n=183) of the sample used to play videogames and 24.5% (n=56) spent more than ten hours playing a week. Internet gaming was correlated with physical aggression (r=.23**), anger (r=.31**) and hostility (r=.35**); and with depression (r=.36**), anxiety (r=.28**), and stress (r=.31**). A Mann Whitney U test revealed significant differences in internet gaming disorder levels of males (Md=130.75, n=102) and females (Md=102.35, n=127), U=4871.000 z=-3.232, p=.001, r=4.49.

Conclusions

Internet gaming disorder is associated with aggression and psychological distress, and males presented higher internet gaming disorder levels. Future studies are needed to explore the bidirectional relationships between gaming disorder, aggression and psychological distress.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Type
Abstract
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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