Depression and Disordered Gaming: Does Culture Matter?

Abstract

The dearth of evidence related to cultural and gender variations of established associations between Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and other psychopathologies has been highlighted. Accordingly, the present study examined the association between depression and disordered gaming behaviors, while considering cultural perspectives of vertical individualism (independence and hierarchy) and gender as potentially variating factors. To achieve this, an ethnically diverse online sample of internet gamers from multicultural societies (N = 1032; Australia = 738; 71.5%; USA = 222; 21.5%; other multicultural countries = 72; 13.3%; Mage = 24 years; males = 503 [48.7%], females = 529 [51.3%]) completed the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale–Short-Form (IGDS9-SF); the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the Individualism and Collectivism Scale (ICS). Regression, moderation and moderated moderation analyses were conducted. Results demonstrated that gamers presenting concurrently with symptoms of depression and vertically individualistic inclinations reported higher levels of disordered gaming behaviors, with no significant gender differences. The findings obtained imply that practitioners globally, and especially in multicultural societies (e.g., Australia, USA), should consider cultural differences when developing prevention and intervention strategies for disordered gaming.