Pathological Internet use among adolescents: Comparing gamers and non-gamers

Esther Strittmatter; Michael Kaess; Peter Parzer; Gloria Fischer; Vladimir Carli; Christina W Hoven; Camilla Wasserman; Marco Sarchiapone; Tony Durkee; Alan Apter; Julio Bobes; Romuald Brunner; Doina Cosman; Merike Sisask; Peeter Värnik; Danuta Wasserman

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2015.04.029

Pathological Internet use among adolescents: Comparing gamers and non-gamers

Psychiatry Res. 2015 Jul 30;228(1):128-35. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2015.04.029. Epub 2015 Apr 30.

Authors

Esther Strittmatter¹, Michael Kaess², Peter Parzer³, Gloria Fischer³, Vladimir Carli⁴, Christina W Hoven⁵, Camilla Wasserman⁶, Marco Sarchiapone⁷, Tony Durkee⁴, Alan Apter⁸, Julio Bobes⁹, Romuald Brunner³, Doina Cosman¹⁰, Merike Sisask¹¹, Peeter Värnik¹¹, Danuta Wasserman⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany; University Medical Center Münster, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Münster, Germany.
² Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. Electronic address: michael.kaess@med.uni-heidelberg.de.
³ Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
⁴ National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention of Mental Ill-Health (NASP), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
⁵ Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.
⁶ Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA; Department of Health Sciences, University of Molise, Campobasso, Italy.
⁷ Department of Health Sciences, University of Molise, Campobasso, Italy.
⁸ Feinberg Child Study Centre, Schneider Children׳s Medical Centre, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
⁹ Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, CIBERSAM, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.
¹⁰ Department of Clinical Psychology Department, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
¹¹ Estonian-Swedish Mental Health and Suicidology Institute (ERSI), Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia.

PMID: 25959265
DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2015.04.029

Abstract

"Internet gaming disorder" was recently included in Section 3 of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Non-gaming Internet activities were not considered because of a lack of evidence. This study examined whether gamers differ from non-gamers with respect to their psychological well-being among students who show pathological Internet use (PIU). This cross-sectional study was conducted within the project "Working in Europe to Stop Truancy Among Youth (WE-STAY)". A total of 8807 European representative students from randomly selected schools were included. The Young Diagnostic Questionnaire was applied to assess PIU, and students with this condition were divided into gamers (PIU-G) and non-gamers (PIU-NG). Overall, 3.62% and 3.11% of the students were classified as having PIU-G and PIU-NG, respectively. A multinomial logistic regression revealed that students with PIU-G and those with PIU-NG showed similarly increased risks for emotional symptoms, conduct disorder, hyperactivity/inattention, self-injurious behaviors, and suicidal ideation and behaviors. Students with PIU-G were more likely to be male and have a higher risk for peer problems than those with PIU-NG. Students with PIU-NG had a higher risk of depression than those with PIU-G. The significant psychological impairment of PIU-NG suggests that it should be considered in future diagnostic criteria.

Keywords: Adolescents; Internet addiction; Internet gaming disorder; Psychological impairment; WE-STAY.

Publication types

Comparative Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior / psychology*
Behavior, Addictive / psychology*
Female
Humans
Internet*
Male
Video Games / psychology*