Children with computer game addiction have a risk for development of deficit in mental functions. What kind of specific effect does this new “digital environment” have for children?

The goal of this research is to check the hypothesis that there is relationship between computer game addiction and low mood in 8-year-old children.

We used questionnaire for parents to reveal children with computer game addiction. Experimental group consisted of 24 8-year-old children with computer game addiction. Control group consisted of 24 children without computer game addiction. The children from experimental and control group were matched for gender. We used Revised Children’s Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS) for assessment of separation anxiety disorder, social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and low mood (major depressive disorder) in children (Child Self-Reported).

Spearman correlation analysis has revealed the significant (p<0.05) positive correlation between level of computer game addiction and low mood in children. However, we did not find the correlation between level of computer game addiction and other scales of RCADS.

It can be assumed that digital environment is a risk for increasing low mood in children. However, we need to do additional research using experimental design to approve the hypothesis that computer game addiction can cause the low mood in children.

Various digital technologies are increasingly being introduced into the everyday life of children. There are evidences that digital addiction has negative effect on cognitive functions of children. What kind of specific effect does this new “digital environment” have for children?

The goal of this research is to check the hypothesis that 7-year-old children with computer game addiction have weakness in sustained attention.

We used questionnaire for parents to reveal children with computer game addiction. Experimental group consisted of 28 7-year-old children with computer game addiction. Control group consisted of 28 children without computer game addiction. Children from experimental and control group were matched for gender and IQ. To assess the sustained attention we used subtest from Luria’s child neuropsychological battery. This subtest is designed to assess visual sustained attention.

One-way ANOVAs by group revealed significant differences (p≤0,05) between the groups in the level of visual sustained attention.

It can be assumed that computer game addiction has negative effect on the development of visual sustained attention in children. However, we need to do additional research to approve this preliminary results.

It is known that children with computer game addiction have a risk for development of deficit in executive abilities. It is important to develop effective approaches for helping children with this addiction.

The goal of this study was to reveal effect of body-oriented therapy on executive abilities in children with computer game addiction. Particularly we compared the efficacy of two methods of treatment (body-oriented therapy for children vs. conventional motor exercises) in a randomized controlled pilot study.

16 7-year-old children with computer game addiction were included and randomly assigned to treatment conditions according to a 2×2 cross-over design. The body-oriented therapy included the exercises from yoga and breathing techniques. To assess the executive functions and attention in children we used 5 subtests from NEPSY (Tower, Auditory Attention and Response Set, Visual Attention, Statue, Design Fluency). Effects of treatment were analyzed by means of an ANOVA for repeated measurements.

The ANOVA has revealed (p<.05) that for all 5 subtests on executive functions and attention the body-oriented therapy was superior to the conventional motor training, with effect sizes in the medium-to-high range (0.42-0.80).

The findings from this pilot study suggest that body-oriented therapy can effectively influence the executive abilities in children with computer game addiction. However, it is necessary to do further research into the impact of body-oriented therapies on children with this addiction.