Prevention approaches to problem gaming: A large-scale qualitative investigation

Online communities come with real-world consequences for individuals and societies

Online communities have become a central part of the internet. Understanding what motivates users to join these communities, and how they affect them and others, spans various psychological domains, including organizational psychology, political and social psychology, and clinical and health psychology. We focus on online communities that are exemplary for three domains: work, hate, and addictions. We review the risks that emerge from these online communities but also recognize the opportunities that work and behavioral addiction communities present for groups and individuals. With the continued evolution of online spheres, online communities are likely to have an increasingly significant role in all spheres of life, ranging from personal to professional and from individual to societal. Psychological research provides critical insights into understanding the formation of online communities, and the implications for individuals and society. To counteract risks, it needs to identify opportunities for prevention and support.

Internet gaming disorder and aggression: A meta-analysis of teenagers and young adults

Background and aims

Internet gaming disorder (IGD) and aggression (AG) are widespread phenomena around the world. Numerous studies have explored the relationship between the two but findings from such studies are inconsistent. The meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the relationship between IGD and AG as well as identify the variables moderating the relationship.

Method

Studies investigating the relationship between IGD and AG were searched using selected terms to identify studies published from 1999 to 2022 on CNKI, Wanfang Data, Chongqing VIP Information Co., Ltd. (VIP), Baidu scholar, ProQuest dissertations, Taylor & Francis, Springer, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Elsevier Science (Science Direct), EBSCO, and PsycINFO. The identified studies were pooled and analyzed.

Results

A total of 30 samples comprising 20,790 subjects were identified. Results showed that there was a moderate relationship between IGD and AG (r = 0.300, 95%CI [0.246, 0.353]). Moderator analysis revealed that the relationship between IGD and AG was moderated by the region, age, and survey year.

Conclusion

This meta-analysis indicated that people with a higher level of IGD might show more aggression, and people with more aggression might have a higher level of IGD. The correlation coefficient between IGD and AG was significantly higher in Asia than in Europe, higher in primary school than in middle school and university, and higher by increasing year. Overall, our findings provide a basis for developing prevention and intervention strategies against IGD and AG.

Systematic review registration

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42022375267, 42022375267.

The effects of an early intervention on adults' gaming-related problems - a pilot study

Gaming Disorder (GD) has been recognized as an official psychiatric condition characterized by individuals' impaired control over gaming, continuous gaming despite the occurrence of negative side-effects, and gaming taking increasing priority over other important areas of life, thus leading to significant impairments in their everyday lives. To date few prevention and treatment programs have been developed. The present pilot study aimed to investigate the effects of an early psycho-educational intervention for young adults with excessive gaming behaviors. A one-group pre- and post-test design without a control group was used. A total of 22 young adults (20 males and 2 females) aged between 18 and 28 (M = 23.05, SD = 3.02) years old, engaged with the intervention. The severity of gaming-related problems, average gaming time per day, quality of life, and mental well-being were assessed at pretest and post-test stages. Participants demonstrated a slight reduction in gaming time (d = 0.13, p = .545 for weekdays, and d = 0.08, p = .714 for weekend days) and in the severity of problematic gaming (d = 0.17, p = .411) over the three-month intervention period. Changes in neither gaming-related measures nor self-assessed quality of life (p > .01) and mental well-being (d = 0.23, p = .288) reached statistical significance, however. Regardless of limitations on sample size, this study shows encouraging signs that this brief 10-session and three-month educational intervention can achieve positive effects on gaming behavior. A larger scale investigation is needed to develop the intervention further.

Gaming Disorder Symptom Questionnaire: The Development and Validation of a Screening Tool for ICD-11 Gaming Disorder in Adolescents

BACKGROUND

Gaming disorder (GD) has been recognized as an official diagnostic entity in the latest revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). However, the majority of previous studies used different instruments, which are not fully consistent with the concept of GD in ICD-11. The development of a screening assessment instrument based on ICD-11 for this new disease entity is very urgent and important.

METHODS

The ICD-11 Gaming Disorder Symptom Questionnaire (GDSQ), based on the ICD-11 diagnostic guidelines for GD, was developed by a team of GD experts. A total of 7,790 adolescents were included in this study. Criterion validity was assessed by GDSQ, Video Gaming Dependency Scale (VGDS), weekly game playing time, weekly game video viewing time, and monthly money spent on games. Item structure was measured by factorial analysis. Discrimination between GD and non-GD was examined based on the receiver characteristic curve (ROC).

RESULTS

The GDSQ was very well described by three symptoms of GD (i.e., impaired control, increasing priority to gaming, and continued use despite the occurrence of negative consequences). The internal consistency was excellent (Cronbach's α = 0.964) with good criterion validity and good discriminatory power. The optimal cutoff point for determining the profile of gamers was found to be ≥62 points. The GDSQ revealed that the prevalence of GD was 2.27% in this adolescent sample.

CONCLUSION

The ICD-11-based GDSQ is a successfully validated measurement scale for GD among adolescents. This study provides a new tool (GDSQ) for us to effectively identify individuals with risk of GD in medical and non-medical settings.

What game we are playing: the psychosocial context of problem gambling, problem gaming and poor well-being among Italian high school students

Gambling and gaming are not infrequent among adolescents and preventing low-risk youth from becoming at-risk appears to be a priority of public health strategies. Greater scrutiny of the risk and protective factors in the relationships and community of young people appears crucial in steering prevention initiatives adequately. This study aimed to explore the role of the qualities of relational networks (i.e. family functioning, perceived social and class support), family and peer approval and view of the social environment in predicting problem gambling, problem gaming and overall well-being among adolescents. High-school students aged 14-18 years (N: 595; female: 68,7%) completed a survey including the target variables. A multivariate multiple regression analysis was performed to examine the role of socio-demographic characteristics and psychosocial predictors on gaming, gambling, and well-being. Multivariate multiple regressions identify a common core underpinning problem gambling, gaming and poor well-being but also the distinct roles of psychosocial variables: being male, with low parental monitoring, and an anomic view of the social environment all predict problem gambling and gaming, which were also found to be associated. Low social support predicts problem gambling but not problem gaming; poor family functioning predicts problem gaming but not problem gambling. All the target psychosocial variables, except approval of gambling, predict poor well-being. On the whole the findings suggest the need to look more closely at the way adolescents, their system of activity and their culture participate in constructing the meaning of gambling and gaming activities and their impact on adolescents' well-being, so that future studies and strategies can more effectively examine the relational dynamics in which problem gambling and gaming develop.

Effectiveness of a Brief Group Intervention Program for Young Adults with Gaming-Related Problems

Excessive digital gaming can have unfavorable effects on gamers’ well-being and everyday functioning. The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of a novel group intervention “Limitless Gaming Bootcamp” on (i) gaming disorder (GD) tendencies, (ii) the amount of time spent on leisure activities, and (iii) subjective well-being among Finnish young adults, and to determine the persistence of the intervention’s influence over time. A one-group pre- and post-test design with no control group was used. Thirty-seven participants were enrolled in the study. The inclusion criteria were being between the ages of 18 and 29; self-reported excessive gaming; a willingness to get support in monitoring one’s gaming behaviour; and a fluency in Finnish. Participants completed a 10-session group intervention designed to enhance conscious gaming behavior and well-being. Baseline, post-test, and six month follow-up measurements were conducted to gather data. Variables measured included background variables, gaming disorder tendencies (Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire, POGQ), self-reported time spent on various leisure activities, and subjective well-being (Short Form of the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation Outcome Measure, CORE-SF/A). The time spent on gaming decreased from pre- to post-intervention measurement and further to the six month follow-up, and participants exhibited less severe GD symptoms during the post-intervention phase and six months after the intervention. Gradual improvements in subjective well-being were also observed. The group intervention was found to be particularly effective at reducing the severity of GD symptoms.