Psychometric Properties of the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short-Form (IGDS9-SF): Systematic Review

Lok Y J Poon; Hector W H Tsang; Tsan Y J Chan; Sze W T Man; Lok Y Ng; Yi L E Wong; Chung-Ying Lin; Chi-Wen Chien; Mark D Griffiths; Halley M Pontes; Amir H Pakpour

doi:10.2196/26821

Psychometric Properties of the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short-Form (IGDS9-SF): Systematic Review

J Med Internet Res. 2021 Oct 18;23(10):e26821. doi: 10.2196/26821.

Authors

Lok Y J Poon¹, Hector W H Tsang^{1

2}, Tsan Y J Chan¹, Sze W T Man¹, Lok Y Ng¹, Yi L E Wong¹, Chung-Ying Lin^#^{3

4

5

6}, Chi-Wen Chien^#¹, Mark D Griffiths⁷, Halley M Pontes⁸, Amir H Pakpour⁹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong.
² Mental Health Research Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong.
³ Institute of Allied Health Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
⁴ Department of Public Health, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
⁵ Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
⁶ Biostatistics Consulting Center, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
⁷ International Gaming Research Unit, Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
⁸ Department of Organizational Psychology, Birkbeck, University of London, London, United Kingdom.
⁹ Department of Nursing, School of Health and Welfare, Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 34661543
PMCID: PMC8561410
DOI: 10.2196/26821

Abstract

Background: The Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short-Form (IGDS9-SF) is among the best with regard to its psychometric properties. Therefore, clinical psychologists are likely guided to use the IGDS9-SF if they want to assess or screen the disordered gaming in their practice. However, the information, especially psychometric evidence, concerning the IGDS9-SF has not been fully examined and summarized.

Objective: This systematic review evaluated the psychometric properties of different language versions of the IGDS9-SF and assessed its methodological quality in order to improve the clinicians' understanding of the IGDS9-SF and facilitate its use.

Methods: Systematic literature searches were carried out using Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Web of Science. The review included English-language studies of any research design that have reported at least one psychometric property of the IGDS9-SF, as defined by the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstrument (COSMIN), and have aimed at testing the psychometric properties of the IGDS9-SF.

Results: In total, 21 studies comprising 15 language versions of the IGDS9-SF were included. Overall, the IGDS9-SF showed adequate internal consistency (although some items did not have satisfactory item-total correlation [IT]), excellent criterion validity, and the ability to distinguish different subgroups with measurement invariance being supported across gender and age. In terms of factor structure, the IGDS9-SF was shown to have a unidimensional factor structure across all 21 studies.

Conclusions: Although there is insufficient evidence regarding the responsiveness and properties of the IGDS9-SF using item response theory, the existing evidence supports its use in assessing disordered gaming among individuals.

Keywords: IGDS9-SF; gaming; gaming addiction; gaming disorder; internet; internet gaming; problematic gaming; psychometrics.

©Lok Y J Poon, Hector W H Tsang, Tsan Y J Chan, Sze W T Man, Lok Y Ng, Yi L E Wong, Chung-Ying Lin, Chi-Wen Chien, Mark D Griffiths, Halley M Pontes, Amir H Pakpour. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 18.10.2021.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review
Systematic Review

MeSH terms

Humans
Internet
Internet Addiction Disorder*
Language
Psychometrics
Reproducibility of Results
Video Games*