The Spanish Version of the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form (IGDS9-SF): Further Examination Using Item Response Theory.

Laura Maldonado-Murciano,Juana Gómez-Benito,Maite Barrios,Georgina Guilera,Halley M. Pontes,Mark D. Griffiths

doi:10.3390/ijerph17197111

Abstract

Internet gaming disorder (IGD) has been recognized by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) as a tentative disorder in the latest (fifth) revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). However, psychometric evaluation of the nine IGD criteria remains necessary to further enhance its assessment. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form (IGDS9-SF). The internal structure, internal consistency, temporal stability, and relationships with other variables were assessed. Furthermore, a polytomous item response theory (IRT) approach was used to evaluate the performance of each item and the test as a whole. A sample of 388 online gamers (53.61% women, mean age 25.45 years, standard deviation (SD) = 9.62) was recruited for this study. Similar to previous research, the results supported a one-factor structure for the IGDS9-SF, adequate internal consistency and temporal stability of scores, goodness of fit of the items to the graded response model (GRM), and more precise scores at high trait levels to assess IGD in Spanish populations. These findings corroborate the suitability of the Spanish IGDS9-SF for clinical assessment and research within Spanish-speaking populations.

Highlights

Internet gaming disorder (IGD) has been recognized by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in May 2013 as a tentative disorder in the latest revision of the Diagnostic and StatisticalManual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) [1]
The Omega reliability coefficient was high (ω = 0.84). These findings indicate that the Spanish IGDS9-SF presents with adequate construct validity, reliability, and temporal stability
The results suggested that the Spanish IGDS9-SF presented with robust convergent validity, and in terms of reliability, the results indicated that the test was internally consistent and stable over a one-month period of time, similar to previous psychometric studies conducted with the IGDS9-SF [31]

Summary

Introduction

Internet gaming disorder (IGD) has been recognized by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in May 2013 as a tentative disorder in the latest (fifth) revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical. Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) [1]. The APA defined IGD as “persistent and recurrent use of the Internet to engage in games, often with other players, leading to clinically significant impairment or distress” [1] To be diagnosed with IGD, five or more of the following nine diagnostic criteria must be endorsed over a period of 12 months: (i) preoccupation with internet gaming; (ii) withdrawal symptoms when internet gaming is not possible (e.g., irritability, anxiety); (iii) tolerance, resulting in the need to spend increasing amounts of time engaged playing internet games; (iv) unsuccessful. Public Health 2020, 17, 7111; doi:10.3390/ijerph17197111 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion