Abstract
Background: Studies have shown that many Internet game players may have experienced Internet gaming disorder (IGD), which is thought to coexist with a variety of cognitive and psychological disorders, such as depression. A three-year, four-point longitudinal tracking study was conducted to examine the trajectory of IGD of Chinese early adolescents, as well as the predictive level of gender and depression for IGD. Participants (N = 316) completed questionnaires assessing IGD and depression at the time of the T1, T2, T3, and T4. This study adopted the widely used latent growth model for data analysis. The results showed that, in the early stage of adolescence, (1) the development trajectory of individual IGD was shown as a nonlinear latent variable growth model; the IGD was significantly higher than zero when teenagers were first measured (sixth grade); and, while on the rise, its growth rate is gradually slowing. (2) Gender can significantly predict the development trajectory of individual IGD. (3) Individuals with a high initial level of depression usually have a high initial level of IGD, individuals with a large range of depression display a large range of IGD, and those with a rapid rate of depression change show similar change in their IGD. In sum, this study provided an empirical basis for the prevention and intervention of IGD in early adolescents.
Highlights
With the development of the Internet, global network usage has increased from1.99 billion in 2010 to 3.385 billion in 2016 [1]
Over the past two decades, many studies have focused on the clinical phenomenon of online use disorders, the most concerning of which is Internet gaming disorder (IGD) [4]
The theoretical hypothesis of the Interaction of Person–Affect–Cognition–Execution (I-PACE) model still lacks the relevant practical research evidence, so this study explores the longitudinal correlation between depression level and IGD, regarding it as a dependent variable and depression as an independent one
Summary
1.99 billion in 2010 to 3.385 billion in 2016 [1]. According to the 47th China Statistical Report on Internet Development released by the China Internet Network Information Center [2], by December 2020, China had 0.989 billion Internet users. With the development of individual physiological age, the level of IGD shows an increasing trend. This study hypothesizes that its initial level is significantly greater than 0, with a significant growth trend, and the quadratic change will gradually increase. Numerous studies have found that adolescents show gender differences in behavior, psychological characteristics, and so on, such as higher levels of drug abuse in early teens, differences in perspective-taking ability, and empathy trends. In terms of early adolescence (12 to 15 years of age), there were found to be gender differences in depression levels and that they peak during this time and decline and remain stable in adulthood [24]. The initial level of early IGD in adolescents is significantly higher than 0 and, over time, shows an increasing trend and accelerated growth. Adolescent depression levels can significantly predict the development of IGD
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