The Relationship Between Behavioral Inhibition and Behavioral Activation Systems, Impulsiveness, and Internet Gaming Disorder Among Students of Different Ages

Effect of excessive internet gaming on inhibitory control based on resting EEG and ERP

Previous research indicates that individuals with Internet gaming disorder (IGD) show impaired inhibitory control and abnormal EEG/ERP patterns. However, it is unclear how those individuals with excessive Internet game use (EUG) but without addiction differ. This study examined inhibitory control, resting EEG, and ERP in EUG gamers compared to non-gamers. Fifteen participants in each group underwent 4-min eyes-closed EEG recordings and a color-word Stroop task. Results showed no significant differences in reaction time, accuracy, or P3 amplitude between EUG gamers and non-gamers. However, EUG gamers exhibited shortened P3 latency, which may suggest enhanced inhibitory control. Additionally, EUG gamers showed reduced theta and alpha band power during the resting state compared to non-gamers. These findings suggest that excessive gaming without addiction may enhance inhibitory control and influence brain activity differently from IGD.

The Prevalence of Internet Gaming Disorder and its Associated Factors Among College Students in Saurashtra Region, Gujarat, India

Background

Internet gaming has become popular in the last few decades; however, very few studies have been conducted on internet gaming in India. This study aimed to investigate internet gaming disorder (IGD), its prevalence, gaming behavior, and effects as well as multiple factors associated with its emergence among college students.

Methods

This cross-sectional study involved a group of 150 college students. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire containing the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form (IGDS9-SF). Statistical analysis was done using Jamovi software.

Findings

A total of 150 college student gamers were involved with a mean age of 18.69±0.10 years. The mean IGD score was 18.74 with a standard deviation of 0.53, while the median score was 18. The prevalence of IGD was 5.3% among the participants. The IGD prevalence was higher in male students and those whose mothers had a high school diploma or higher. Gamers who spent more than2 hours a day on games had significantly higher IGD scores (P<0.05). A significant association was also found between tingling/numbness in the hand while playing and physical pain with IGD (P<0.05).

Conclusion

Spending more time playing online games was significantly associated with a higher risk of IGD. One negative consequence of IGD is the development of physical health issues. It is important to raise awareness about the physical health consequences of excessive gaming among students, parents, institutions, and concerned authorities.

Subgroups of internet gaming disorder based on addiction-related resting-state functional connectivity

AIMS

To identify subgroups of people with internet gaming disorder (IGD) based on addiction-related resting-state functional connectivity and how these subgroups show different clinical correlates and responses to treatment.

DESIGN

Secondary analysis of two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data sets.

SETTING

Zhejiang province and Beijing, China.

PARTICIPANTS

One hundred and sixty-nine IGD and 147 control subjects.

MEASUREMENTS

k-Means algorithmic and support-vector machine-learning approaches were used to identify subgroups of IGD subjects. These groups were examined with respect to assessments of craving, behavioral activation and inhibition, emotional regulation, cue-reactivity and guessing-related measures.

FINDINGS

Two groups of subjects with IGD were identified and defined by distinct patterns of connectivity in brain networks previously implicated in addictions: subgroup 1 ('craving-related subgroup') and subgroup 2 ('mixed psychological subgroup'). Clustering IGD on this basis enabled the development of diagnostic classifiers with high sensitivity and specificity for IGD subgroups in 10-fold validation (n = 218) and out-of-sample replication (n = 98) data sets. Subgroup 1 is characterized by high craving scores, cue-reactivity during fMRI and responsiveness to a craving behavioral intervention therapy. Subgroup 2 is characterized by high craving, behavioral inhibition and activations scores, non-adaptive emotion-regulation strategies and guessing-task fMRI measures. Subgroups 1 and 2 showed largely opposite functional-connectivity patterns in overlapping networks.

CONCLUSIONS

There appear to be two subgroups of people with internet gaming disorder, each associated with differing patterns of brain functional connectivity and distinct clinical symptom profiles and gender compositions.

Relationship between behavioral inhibition/activation system and Internet addiction among Chinese college students: The mediating effects of intolerance of uncertainty and self-control and gender differences

Background

Internet addiction is a global public health issue among college students that is associated with a range of negative outcomes. Especially the COVID-19 pandemic has forced them to shift most of their studies and life activities from offline to online, leading to a growing problem of Internet dependence and even Internet addiction. Although previous studies have indicated that the Behavioral Inhibition/Activation System (BIS/BAS) have important effects on college students' Internet addiction, the mechanisms underlying these associations and gender differences are still unclear.

Aims

The present study investigated the mediating roles of intolerance of uncertainty and self-control in the association between BIS/BAS and Internet addiction following the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution model. Gender differences in such associations between variables were also tested.

Method

A total of 747 Chinese college students were surveyed by using Young's Diagnostic Questionnaire for Internet Addiction, BIS/BAS Scales, the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale and the Brief Self-Control Scale.

Results

The results from the structural equation modeling analysis showed that BIS was positively related to Internet addiction and that BAS had a negative association with Internet addiction. Moreover, intolerance of uncertainty and self-control mediated the relationships between BIS/BAS and Internet addiction. Multi-group analysis further revealed that the associations between BAS and Internet addiction and between intolerance of uncertainty and Internet addiction were stronger among the male students than among female students. The relationship between self-control and Internet addiction was greater in the female sample than in the male sample.

Conclusions

These findings extend our understanding of how BIS/BAS influence Internet addiction among college students and suggest that not only should training approaches based on intolerance of uncertainty and self-control be fully considered, but different intervention programs should be focused on gender sensitivity to maximize the intervention effect.

The roles of behavioral inhibition/activation systems and impulsivity in problematic smartphone use: A network analysis

Background

Behavioral inhibition/activation systems (BIS/BAS) and impulsivity are associated with problematic smartphone use (PSU). However, no studies to date have explored how the subdomains of BIS/BAS and the dimensions of impulsivity relate to the components of PSU in a joint framework. This study aimed to examine the relationships between the three constructs at a fine-grained level and identify the central nodes and bridge nodes of their relationships using network analysis.

Methods

A regularized partial correlation network of PSU, BIS/BAS, and impulsivity communities was estimated to investigate the connections between variables and determine the expected influence and bridge expected influence for each variable based on data from 325 Chinese adults. PSU, BIS/BAS, and impulsivity were assessed using the Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale (SABAS), BIS/BAS scales, and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-Version 11 (BIS-11), respectively.

Results

In addition to connections within each community, network analysis revealed that there were connections between different communities, especially connections to PSU. I2 "motor impulsivity" was strongly associated with PSU2 "conflict" and PSU6 "relapse"; BASR "BAS-reward responsiveness" was strongly associated with PSU5 "withdrawal." Nodes BASR "BAS-reward responsiveness" and PSU6 "relapse" were the most central variables, while nodes BASR "BAS-reward responsiveness" and I2 "motor impulsivity" were the strongest bridge variables.

Conclusion

The connections between the subdomains of BIS/BAS and the components of PSU and between the dimensions of impulsivity and the components of PSU may be particularly important in the development and maintenance of PSU. The central variables identified here, along with the bridge variables, could be promising and effective targets for the prevention and intervention of PSU.

A Network Analysis of the Relationships Between Behavioral Inhibition/Activation Systems and Problematic Mobile Phone Use

Background

It is of great concern to society that individuals can be vulnerable to problematic mobile phone use (PMPU). However, there are a few studies in the field evaluating associations between behavioral inhibition/activation systems (BIS/BAS) and PMPU, and the results have been inconsistent. This study aimed to explore the relationships between BIS/BAS and PMPU by network analysis.

Methods

A total of 891 young adults participated in the study. BIS/BAS and PMPU were assessed by using the behavioral inhibition and activation systems scale and smartphone application-based addiction scale, respectively. The structure of the BIS/BAS-PMPU network was characterized using "strength," "closeness" and "betweenness" as centrality indices. Edge-weight accuracy and centrality stability were tested using a bootstrap procedure.

Results

The network analysis showed that "mood modification," "tolerance" and "withdrawal symptoms" had high centrality. In addition, the positive connection between BIS and "mood modification" or "tolerance" and between BAS-fun seeking and "mood modification" or "conflict" were also shown in the BIS/BAS-PMPU network.

Conclusion

These findings shed light on the central and bridge components between the BIS/BAS and PMPU communities, providing new evidence relevant to potential mechanisms that account for how high-BIS or high-BAS individuals develop PMPU, and inspiring component-based PMPU prevention or interventions.