Is the proposed distinction of gaming disorder into a predominantly online vs. offline form meaningful? Empirical evidence from a large German speaking gamer sample

Insights on associations between the frequency of use of diverse social media products and social networks use disorder tendencies from a German speaking sample

OBJECTIVE

In the present work we investigate how individual differences in at least occasionally using distinct social media platforms is linked to social networks use disorder (SNUD) tendencies. A final sample of n = 2200 participants filled in the AICA-C-9 measure to get insights into individual differences in overuse of social media and participants also indicated which platforms they used at least once a month.

RESULTS

The analysis revealed a robust positive association between number of at least occasionally used social media apps and SNUD tendencies (r = .44, p < .001). Further, platforms differed in terms of their "addictive potential", if one takes associations between frequency of distinct platforms use and SNUD tendencies as a proxy for this (and of course the actual descriptive statistics of the SNUD scale for the (non-)frequent user groups of the different platforms). In this regard, at least occasionally using some platforms (here Tumblr, Twitter and TikTok) was associated with highest SNUD tendencies. Moreover, largest differences in terms of effect sizes between the occasional and non-occasional user groups regarding SNUD scores could be observed for Instagram, WhatsApp, and TikTok. The present work bases on data from a larger project investigating associations between SNUD and tobacco use disorder.

Problematic social media use in childhood and adolescence

At the time of writing, about 4.59 billion people use social media with many adolescents using their social media accounts across a myriad of applications and platforms. According to recent statistics, in 2022 individuals spent an average of 151 minutes on social media each day, illustrating the global relevance of social media (Dixon, 2022a,b). One of the pressing questions, internationally, is whether social media use is harmful and/or addictive. This question is of particular importance because many teenagers - and younger adolescents - spend considerable time on these platforms, which have increasingly become an integral part of their lives. Moreover, considering lifespan development, adolescents may be particularly vulnerable to specific features and advertisements shown to them on social media platforms. Growing prevalence of poor mental health in young people has led to recent recommendations in the United States to routinely screen for anxiety in 8-18 year olds, and for depression and suicide risk for adolescents between 12-18 years of age (US Preventive Services Task Force et al., 2022 a,b) - the conditions often accompanying problematic social media use. The present work not only provides insights into the current state of the literature but provides also recommendations.

Investigating the interplay between gaming disorder and functional impairments in professional esports gaming

The relationship between Gaming Disorder (GD) and the experience of functional impairments has received considerable theoretical attention in the recent past and current diagnostic approaches underscore the centrality of functional impairments as a requirement for GD diagnosis. However, there is limited empirical evidence illuminating the interplay between GD and functional impairments, particularly among specific vulnerable groups. The present study seeks to bridge this gap by investigating an English-speaking sample (N = 5198) comprising an age- and gender-matched group of Professional Gamers (PG, n = 2599) and Non-Professional Gamers (NPG, n = 2599) sub-sampled from a larger sample of 192,260 individuals. The results revealed that PG were at a greater risk for GD compared to NPG as the prevalence rate of GD among PG (3.31%) was significantly higher and almost doubled that of NPG (1.73%), with PG further exhibiting higher overall GD symptom-load and weekly time spent gaming compared to NPG. Furthermore, PG reported experiencing significantly higher frequency of gaming-related functional impairments compared to NPG, with the in particular affected areas for both PG and NPG being 'school and/or work', 'physical health', and 'family', with other key differences emerging in relation to other outcomes. Overall, the present findings show that not only GD symptom-load but also some functional impairment is higher in PG compared to NPG which highlights the need to develop and support prevention and intervention strategies for this at-risk population.

Social media use and everyday cognitive failure: investigating the fear of missing out and social networks use disorder relationship

BACKGROUND

Nearly five billion individuals worldwide are using social media platforms. While the benefits of using social media, such as fostering social connections, are clear, ongoing discussions are focused on whether excessive use of these platforms might have adverse effects on cognitive functioning. Excessive social media use shares similarities with addictive behaviors and is believed to result from a complex interplay of individual characteristics, emotions, thoughts, and actions. Among these contributing factors, one of particular interest is the Fear of Missing Out (FoMO), a state where an individual apprehends that others are experiencing rewarding moments in their absence (but see more information on the FoMO trait/state debate in this article).

METHODS

In this study, we aimed to explore the intricate relationships between FoMO, tendencies towards Social Networks Use Disorder (SNUD), and everyday cognitive failures. To achieve this, we gathered a large sample of N = 5314 participants and administered a comprehensive set of questionnaires. These included a Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) scale, which assessed both trait and state aspects of FoMO, the Social Networking Sites-Addiction Test (SNS-AT), designed to gauge tendencies towards SNUD, and the Cognitive Failure Questionnaire (CFQ), which measured everyday cognitive lapses.

RESULTS

Our findings revealed that among non-users of social media, both FoMO and everyday cognitive failures were at their lowest levels. Further, in the group of social media users, we observed a significant relationship between FoMO and cognitive failures, which was mediated by SNUD tendencies. This mediation was particularly pronounced for the state component of FoMO, which encompasses maladaptive thoughts related to online behavior.

CONCLUSIONS

While our study is cross-sectional and thus cannot establish causality, one plausible interpretation of our findings is that higher FoMO tendencies may trigger excessive social media use, which in turn could lead to cognitive failures, possibly due to distraction and reduced attention to everyday tasks.

Psychometric properties of the Persian Gaming Disorder Test and relationships with psychological distress and insomnia in adolescents

BACKGROUND

Gaming Disorder (GD) was recently included by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a psychiatric condition in the eleventh revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) and is a concern worldwide, including in Iran. Thus, based on the ICD-11 criteria, a Persian version of the Gaming Disorder Test (GDT) was developed to facilitate assessment of GD.

METHODS

The present study used classical test theory and Rasch analysis to examine the psychometric properties of the Persian GDT. Iranian adolescents (n = 3837; 2171 [56.6%] males; mean [SD] age = 16.02 [1.4] years) completed the GDT and other instruments assessing disordered gaming, psychological distress, and insomnia.

RESULTS

Overall, the psychometric properties of the Persian GDT were satisfactory based on classical test theory (i.e., confirmatory factor analysis corroborated the unidimensional structure of GDT) and Rasch analysis (i.e., fit statistics suggested that all items were embedded in the concept of GD). Moreover, the Persian GDT was found to be sex-invariant, displaying no items with substantial differential item functioning across sexes. Additionally, it was found that GD mediated associations between time spent gaming and measures of psychological distress and insomnia.

CONCLUSION

The Persian GDT is a convenient and short instrument for assessing GD among Iranian adolescents. The mediating roles of GD in the associations between time spent gaming and psychological distress and between time spent gaming and insomnia suggest that targeting features of GD may reduce psychological distress and improve sleep for Iranian adolescents.

Neuroimaging the effects of smartphone (over-)use on brain function and structure-a review on the current state of MRI-based findings and a roadmap for future research

The smartphone represents a transformative device that dramatically changed our daily lives, including how we communicate, work, entertain ourselves, and navigate through unknown territory. Given its ubiquitous availability and impact on nearly every aspect of our lives, debates on the potential impact of smartphone (over-)use on the brain and whether smartphone use can be "addictive" have increased over the last years. Several studies have used magnetic resonance imaging to characterize associations between individual differences in excessive smartphone use and variations in brain structure or function. Therefore, it is an opportune time to summarize and critically reflect on the available studies. Following this overview, we present a roadmap for future research to improve our understanding of how excessive smartphone use can affect the brain, mental health, and cognitive and affective functions.

Psychometric properties of three online-related addictive behavior instruments among Bangladeshi school-going adolescents

BACKGROUND

Due to the ease of access to the internet in modern society users have become more prone to experiencing addictive behaviors online. The present study aimed to develop and investigate the psychometric properties of the Bangla Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short-Form (IGDS9-SF), Gaming Disorder Test (GDT), and Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) due to a lack of existing sound psychometric tools in Bangladesh.

METHODS

A cross-sectional paper-and-pencil survey was carried out among 428 school-aged adolescents who were active gamers (90.89% males; Meanage: 16.13±1.85 years; age range: 10-19 years). Participants were recruited using convenience sampling across four selected schools in Dhaka City, Bangladesh. Data collected included sociodemographic information, frequency of internet use and gaming behaviors, psychological states (i.e., Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-9], Generalized Anxiety Disorder [GAD-7]), disordered gaming and social media use (i.e., IGDS9-SF, GDT, and BSMAS). Psychometric testing was conducted to examine the validity and reliability levels of the Bangla IGDS9-SF, GDT, and BSMAS.

RESULTS

The newly adapted Bangla IGDS9-SF, GDT, and BSMAS exhibited adequate levels of internal consistency. All total scores were significantly correlated with depression, anxiety, frequencies of internet use/online activities and gaming, supporting criterion and convergent validity. CFA indicated excellent construct validity as all instruments had a good fit to the data.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that the Bangla IGDS9-SF, GDT, and BSMAS are sound psychometric instruments due to their satisfactory psychometric properties including internal consistency, criterion validity, convergent validity, and construct validity.

Associations between levels of Internet Gaming Disorder symptoms and striatal morphology-replication and associations with social anxiety

Background

Brain structural alterations of the striatum have been frequently observed in internet gaming disorder (IGD); however, the replicability of the results and the associations with social-affective dysregulations such as social anxiety remain to be determined.

Methods

The present study combined a dimensional neuroimaging approach with both voxel-wise and data-driven multivariate approaches to (i) replicate our previous results on a negative association between IGD symptom load (assessed by the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form) and striatal volume, (ii) extend these findings to female individuals, and (iii) employ multivariate and mediation models to determine common brain structural representations of IGD and social anxiety (assessed by the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale).

Results

In line with the original study, the voxel-wise analyses revealed a negative association between IGD and volumes of the bilateral caudate. Going beyond the earlier study investigating only male participants, the present study demonstrates that the association in the right caudate was comparable in both the male and the female subsamples. Further examination using the multivariate approach revealed regionally different associations between IGD and social anxiety with striatal density representations in the dorsal striatum (caudate) and ventral striatum (nucleus accumbens). Higher levels of IGD were associated with higher social anxiety and the association was critically mediated by the multivariate neurostructural density variations of the striatum.

Conclusions

Altered striatal volumes may represent a replicable and generalizable marker of IGD symptoms. However, exploratory multivariate analyses revealed more complex and regional specific associations between striatal density and IGD as well as social anxiety symptoms. Variations in both tendencies may share common structural brain representations, which mediate the association between increased IGD and social anxiety.

Opposing associations of Internet Use Disorder symptom domains with structural and functional organization of the striatum: A dimensional neuroimaging approach

BACKGROUND

Accumulating evidence suggests brain structural and functional alterations in Internet Use Disorder (IUD). However, conclusions are strongly limited due to the retrospective case-control design of the studies, small samples, and the focus on general rather than symptom-specific approaches.

METHODS

We here employed a dimensional multi-methodical MRI-neuroimaging design in a final sample of n = 203 subjects to examine associations between levels of IUD and its symptom-dimensions (loss of control/time management, craving/social problems) with brain structure, resting state and task-based (pain empathy, affective go/no-go) brain function.

RESULTS

Although the present sample covered the entire range of IUD, including normal, problematic as well as pathological levels, general IUD symptom load was not associated with brain structural or functional alterations. However, the symptom-dimensions exhibited opposing associations with the intrinsic and structural organization of the brain, such that loss of control/time management exhibited negative associations with intrinsic striatal networks and hippocampal volume, while craving/social problems exhibited a positive association with intrinsic striatal networks and caudate volume.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings provided the first evidence for IUD symptom-domain specific associations with progressive alterations in the intrinsic structural and functional organization of the brain, particularly of striatal systems involved in reward, habitual and cognitive control processes.

Investigating gaming disorder and individual differences in gaming motives among professional and non-professional gamers: An empirical study

The present study investigates the relationship between Gaming Disorder (GD) and individual differences in gaming motives and how they might differ between three groups of gamers. The first group stated to be professional gamers (n = 129; 2,49%), the second group consisted of non-professional gamers, who intended to become professional gamers (n = 646; 12,45%), and the third group included the remaining non-professional gamers (n = 4,412; 85,06%). Gaming motives were assessed via the Motives for Online Gaming Questionnaire (MOGQ), and GD was assessed with the Gaming Disorder Test (GDT). Results revealed that professional gamers and those intending to become professional were very similar regarding their gaming motive expressions. In contrast, non-professional gamers without esports ambitions scored significantly lower on all gaming motives, except for the recreational motive which was comparable across all groups. Several consistent gaming motive-GD associations appeared across the three gamer groups, with the most robust finding being that higher escapism motive expressions relate to greater GDT scores. The present study sheds light on an emerging field of research attempting to better understand competitive gaming in the context of esports.

Current Status of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) in Japan: New Lifestyle-Related Disease in Children and Adolescents

The World Health Organization recognizes internet gaming disorder (IGD) as a disorder that causes problems in daily life as a result of excessive interest in online games. The causes of IGD have become more apparent in recent years. Because of prolonged exposure to games, the mechanisms controlling the reward system, such as the prefrontal cortex, limbic system, and amygdala of the cerebrum, do not function properly in IGD. This mechanism is similar to that of various behavioral addictions, such as gambling addiction. IGD is particularly risky in children and adolescents because it easily causes brain dysfunction, especially in the developing brain. IGD should be regarded as a new lifestyle-related disease in younger individuals, and lifestyle modifications, including counseling and family therapy, are critical for its management.

Disordered gaming, loneliness, and family harmony in gamers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

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(Internet) Gaming Disorder scores increased significantly during the pandemic years.

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Loneliness and family harmony did not change significantly.

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Correlations between (I)GD and loneliness/poorer family harmony increased.

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The COVID-19 pandemic might have negatively affected the well-being of gamers.

The aim of this study was to investigate if and how disordered gaming, loneliness, and family relations have changed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic (from 2019 to 2021), and whether there were any changes in the association between these variables across three samples of gamers (for each respective year). Samples from 2019, 2020, and 2021 were matched by using propensity score matching across socio-demographic characteristics. The total effective sample comprised 897 gamers (N = 299 per year). These samples were compared in terms of disordered gaming – separately as Gaming Disorder (GD; WHO framework) and Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD; APA framework), loneliness, and family harmony scores with analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs), with age and gender as covariates. Steiger tests were used for correlation differences testing. ANCOVAs showed that while GD and IGD scores have increased significantly during the pandemic years, loneliness and family harmony did not change significantly. Furthermore, the correlation differences tests indicated that the correlations between both IGD and GD with loneliness as well as poorer family harmony have increased during the pandemic years. This study provides empirical evidence that the well-being of gamers might have been negatively affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. While loneliness and family harmony did not increase, the stronger correlations between Gaming Disorder and other variables might suggest that gaming may have been used to cope with loneliness and poorer family harmony.