Factorial structure of the Internet Gaming Disorder questionnaire in the Italian setting: a single-factored ailment or a multifaceted condition?

Abstract

Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) according to DSM-5 is a behavioral addiction needing additionalstudy. IGD in youth is correlated with anxiety, depression, attention problems, interpersonalproblems, social phobia, behavior problems and low academic achievement. The aim of thepresent research is to contribute to the understanding of the disorder, by providing preliminarydata on the factorial structure of the IGD Questionnaire in the Italian version. 612 Italian students (323 females), mean of age = 13.94 (SD = 2.44).Instruments: a survey comprising IGD Questionnaire, Internet Addiction Test (IAT), Children'sCoping Strategies Checklist (CCSC-R1), Assessment of Interpersonal Relations (AIR), and ChildBehavior Checklist (CBCL). 15.2% of participants showed a sub-clinical IGD and 2.1% met the full diagnostic criteria.Participants with IGD showed lower scores in interpersonal relationships, worse coping strategiesand higher scores in externalization. The factorial structure of the IGD Questionnaire highlights 4factors ("addiction", "gaming as coping", "impaired control" and "negative outcomes") thatexplain 52.14% of the variance. A single-factor solution was also tested and results seem to becoherent with the four-factor solution, explaining less variance. IGD is a complex clinical condition that can be thought both as a single-factored andas a multi-faceted condition.