Risk Factors For Gaming Disorder in Adults

Objective The increasing risk of excessive gaming and its negative impacts are the reasons the World Health Organization (WHO) included gaming disorder in the ICD-11. However, game addiction is not yet recognized by the American Psychiatric Association as a diagnosable disorder. The current study aims to investigate the impacts of depression, anxiety, impulsivity, poor social support, and neuropsychological dysfunction are risk factors for gaming disorder (GD). Method Eighty individuals ( n  = 80) aged 18–59 participated in this study. Participants completed a series of self-reported questionnaires and performed brief neuropsychological testing. Spearman’s correlation coefficients were used for assessing the bivariate relationship between self-reported symptom measures, neuropsychological tests, and GD scores. A t-tests were employed to compare symptoms of GD on self-report measures and neuropsychological performance. Logistic regression with stepwise variable selection was used to predict the GD measure cut-off score using self-reported measures. Results The elevated GD symptoms were significantly associated with increased levels of depression and anxiety, and with decreased levels of social support. Additionally, participants with higher levels of GD symptoms showed faster reaction time on the anti-saccade task. Other relationships between neuropsychological tests and GD symptoms were not significant. Conclusions Further research is needed to understand the motivation for excessive video gaming in different populations and the role of the neurological function of GD. This study indicates that depression and anxiety are significant risk factors for GD, whereas social support is a protective factor. Such research provided preliminary evidence that could help develop effective prevention and treatment interventions for GD.