Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T09:39:23.124Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

A longitudinal study on psychosocial causes and consequences of Internet gaming disorder in adolescence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2018

Lutz Wartberg*
Affiliation:
German Center for Addiction Research in Childhood and Adolescence (DZSKJ), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
Levente Kriston
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Psychology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
Matthias Zieglmeier
Affiliation:
Chair for Pedagogy with a Focus on Media Education, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Regensburger Straße 160, 90478 Nuremberg, Germany
Tania Lincoln
Affiliation:
Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Institute of Psychology, University of Hamburg, Von-Melle-Park 5, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
Rudolf Kammerl
Affiliation:
Chair for Pedagogy with a Focus on Media Education, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Regensburger Straße 160, 90478 Nuremberg, Germany
*
Author for correspondence: Lutz Wartberg, E-mail: lwartberg@uke.de

Abstract

Background

In 2013, Internet gaming disorder (IGD) was incorporated in the current version of the DSM-5. IGD refers to a problematic use of video games. Longitudinal studies on the etiology of IGD are lacking. Furthermore, it is currently unclear to which extent associated psychopathological problems are causes or consequences of IGD. In the present survey, longitudinal associations between IGD and adolescent and parental mental health were investigated for the first time, as well as the temporal stability of IGD.

Methods

In a cross-lagged panel design study, family dyads (adolescent with a parent each) were examined in 2016 (t1) and again 1 year later (2017, t2). Overall, 1095 family dyads were assessed at t1 and 985 dyads were re-assessed at t2 with standardized measures of IGD and several aspects of adolescent and parental mental health. Data were analyzed with structural equation modeling (SEM).

Results

Male gender, a higher level of hyperactivity/inattention, self-esteem problems and IGD at t1 were predictors of IGD at t2. IGD at t1 was a predictor for adolescent emotional distress at t2. Overall, 357 out of the 985 adolescents received a diagnosis of IGD at t1 or t2: 142 (14.4%) at t1 and t2, 100 (10.2%) only at t1, and 115 (11.7%) only at t2.

Conclusions

Hyperactivity/inattention and self-esteem problems seem to be important for the development of IGD. We found first empirical evidence that IGD could prospectively contribute to a deterioration of adolescent mental health. Only a subgroup of affected adolescents showed IGD consistently over 1 year.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Altman, DG (1991) Practical Statistics for Medical Research. Boca Raton: Chapman & Hall/CRC.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association (2013) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), 5th edn., Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association.Google Scholar
Brunborg, GS, Mentzoni, RA and Frøyland, LR (2014) Is video gaming, or video game addiction, associated with depression, academic achievement, heavy episodic drinking, or conduct problems? Journal of Behavioral Addictions 3, 2732.Google Scholar
Gentile, DA, et al. (2011) Pathological video game use among youths: a two-year longitudinal study. Pediatrics 127, e319e329.Google Scholar
Goodman, R (1997) The strengths and difficulties questionnaire: a research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 38, 581586.Google Scholar
Hampel, P and Petermann, F (2012). Screening Psychischer Störungen im Jugendalter – II (SPS-J-II). Deutschsprachige Adaptation des Reynolds Adolescent Adjustment Screening Inventory (RAASI) von William M. Reynolds (2., erweiterte Auflage). Bern: Huber.Google Scholar
King, DL and Delfabbro, PH (2016) The cognitive psychopathology of internet gaming disorder in adolescence. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 44, 16351645.Google Scholar
Király, O, Griffiths, MD and Demetrovics, Z (2015) Internet gaming disorder and the DSM-5: conceptualization, debates, and controversies. Current Addiction Reports 2, 254262.Google Scholar
Király, O, et al. (2017) Validation of the ten-item internet gaming disorder test (IGDT-10) and evaluation of the nine DSM-5 internet gaming disorder criteria. Addictive Behaviors 64, 253260.Google Scholar
Ko, CH, et al. (2014) Evaluation of the diagnostic criteria of internet gaming disorder in the DSM-5 among young adults in Taiwan. Journal of Psychiatric Research 53, 103110.Google Scholar
Konkolÿ Thege, B, et al. (2015) Natural course of behavioral addictions: a 5-year longitudinal study. BMC Psychiatry 15, 4.Google Scholar
Koo, HJ, et al. (2017) The structured clinical interview for DSM-5 Internet gaming disorder: development and validation for diagnosing IGD in adolescents. Psychiatry Investigation 14, 2129.Google Scholar
Kroenke, K, Spitzer, RL and Williams, JB (2003) The patient health questionnaire-2: validity of a two-item depression screener. Medical Care 41, 12841292.Google Scholar
Kroenke, K, et al. (2007) Anxiety disorders in primary care: prevalence, impairment, comorbidity, and detection. Annals of Internal Medicine 146, 317325.Google Scholar
Lemmens, JS, Valkenburg, PM and Gentile, DA (2015) The internet gaming disorder scale. Psychological Assessment 27, 567582.Google Scholar
Lemmens, JS, Valkenburg, PM and Peter, J (2011) Psychosocial causes and consequences of pathological gaming. Computers in Human Behavior 27, 144152.Google Scholar
Martín-Fernández, M, et al. (2017) Adolescents with Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD): profiles and treatment response. Adicciones 29, 125133.Google Scholar
Muthén, LK and Muthén, BO (2012) Mplus User's Guide, 7th edn., Los Angeles: CA Muthén & Muthén.Google Scholar
Petry, NM, et al. (2014) An international consensus for assessing internet gaming disorder using the new DSM-5 approach. Addiction 109, 13991406.Google Scholar
Petry, NM, et al. (2015) Internet Gaming Disorder in the DSM-5. Current Psychiatry Reports 17, 72.Google Scholar
Pontes, HM and Griffiths, MD (2015) Measuring DSM-5 internet gaming disorder: development and validation of a short psychometric scale. Computers in Human Behavior 45, 137143.Google Scholar
Pontes, HM, Macur, M and Griffiths, MD (2016) Internet Gaming Disorder among Slovenian primary schoolchildren: findings from a nationally representative sample of adolescents. Journal of Behavioral Addictions 5, 304310.Google Scholar
Rehbein, F, et al. (2015) Prevalence of Internet gaming disorder in German adolescents: diagnostic contribution of the nine DSM-5 criteria in a state-wide representative sample. Addiction 110, 842851.Google Scholar
Reynolds, WM (2001) Reynolds Adolescent Adjustment Screening Inventory™ (RAASI™): Professional Manual. Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.Google Scholar
Scharkow, M, Festl, R and Quandt, T (2014) Longitudinal patterns of problematic computer game use among adolescents and adults–a 2-year panel study. Addiction 109, 19101917.Google Scholar
Schermelleh-Engel, K, Moosbrugger, H and Müller, H (2003) Evaluating the fit of structural equation models: tests of significance and descriptive goodness-of-fit measures. Methods of Psychological Research Online 8, 2374.Google Scholar
Van Rooij, AJ, Schoenmakers, TM and van de Mheen, D (2017) Clinical validation of the C-VAT 2.0 assessment tool for gaming disorder: a sensitivity analysis of the proposed DSM-5 criteria and the clinical characteristics of young patients with ‘video game addiction’. Addictive Behaviors 64, 269274.Google Scholar
Wartberg, L, Kriston, L and Kammerl, R (2017 a) Associations of social support, friends only known through the internet, and health-related quality of life with internet gaming disorder in adolescence. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 20, 436441.Google Scholar
Wartberg, L, et al. (2017 b) Internet gaming disorder in early adolescence: associations with parental and adolescent mental health. European Psychiatry 43, 1418.Google Scholar
Wartberg, L, Kriston, L and Thomasius, R (2017 c) The prevalence and psychosocial correlates of Internet gaming disorder–analysis in a nationally representative sample of 12- to 25-year-olds. Deutsches Ärzteblatt International 114, 419424.Google Scholar
Yu, H and Cho, J (2016) Prevalence of internet gaming disorder among Korean adolescents and associations with non-psychotic psychological symptoms, and physical aggression. American Journal of Health Behavior 40, 705716.Google Scholar