Abstract
Background: Internet gaming is extremely popular in China. However, some players overuse it, with negative outcomes. Knowing the prevalence rate and specific risk factors can provide a better understanding of the etiology of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of IGD among Chinese adolescents and its association with their personality traits and Internet gaming characteristics.Methods: A cross-sectional study design was utilized in this study. Participants were recruited from 34 provincial administrative districts in China and consisted of 6,379 adolescent game players aged 15–25 (males/females = 3,701/2,678, mean age: 19.35 ± 1.61). A self-report structured questionnaire containing questions regarding demographic information and Internet gaming use characteristics, the Video Gaming Dependency Scale, and the Chinese Big Five Inventory-brief version, was used in the study.Results: The prevalence of IGD among Chinese adolescent game players was 17.0%. All participants were divided into the IGD group (males/females = 751/333, mean age: 19.74 ± 1.85) or the non-IGD group (males/females = 2,950/2,345, mean age: 19.27 ± 1.54). Specifically, twelve factors were significantly associated with IGD (p < 0.001), including neuroticism (β = 0.17), conscientiousness (β = −0.14), Internet gaming time per day (Hour) (β = 0.21), Internet gaming charge per month (Yuan) (β = 0.21), motive: escaping (β = 0.15), motive: sensation seeking (β = 0.13), motive: maintaining (β = 0.08), motive: coping (β = 0.06), having one or two long-term game partners (β = 0.06), male (β = 0.12), undergraduate and above (β = 0.04), and relationship status of couple (β = 0.04).Conclusion: Our findings offer evidence with respect to the prevalence of IGD and its relationships with specific personality traits and Internet gaming characteristics in China. It is necessary for Chinese parents, teachers, and social workers to pay more attention to adolescents' personality traits of high neuroticism and low conscientiousness, long time and high expense they spend on game, as well as their motives.
Highlights
Given the characteristics of Internet games, immersion in Internet gaming has become increasingly common and an important part of daily activities for adolescents and adults [1]
To control the effect of socio-demographic variables, sex, education and relationship status, personality traits and Internet gaming characteristics were included in a multiple linear regression
We found that nearly 17.0% of Chinese adolescent game users reported Internet Gaming disorder (IGD), which was significantly associated with gender, highest education, relationship status, Internet gaming use characteristics, motivation and personality traits
Summary
Given the characteristics of Internet games (free access, unlimited use, strong interactivity, and instant rewards), immersion in Internet gaming has become increasingly common and an important part of daily activities for adolescents and adults [1]. Some players show overuse and symptoms similar to those of substance addictions [4], which may result in negative outcomes such as depression, anxiety, academic dysfunction, poor sleep quality, exacerbating relationships with family and peers, and even substance use [5, 6]. Due to the differences in measurement tools and cultural backgrounds, different prevalence rates of IGD were reported among young people. Some studies reported that the rates of possible IGD among adolescents in China ranged between 2.0 [15] and 17.0% [16]. Knowing the prevalence rate and specific risk factors can provide a better understanding of the etiology of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of IGD among Chinese adolescents and its association with their personality traits and Internet gaming characteristics
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