Abstract
Background: Problematic gaming has become a major health issue in children and adolescents resulting in the need for targeted valid and reliable screening instruments. This study aimed to explore the psychometric properties and criterion validity of the widely used 9-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale (IGDS) in young gamers. Methods: Three independent samples were drawn from socio-demographically representative cross-sectional telephone surveys collected in the years 2016 (N = 762), 2017 (N = 777), and 2018 (N = 784) and analyzed separately. Results: The IGDS revealed psychometric properties suitable for screening in large samples. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.563, 0.724, and 0.778. The unidimensionality assumption was challenged. At-risk and pathological gamers compared to normal gamers reported longer digital media use and more emotional symptoms and hyperactivity/inattention with clinical relevance to medium effect sizes. The comparison of at-risk and pathological gamers indicated a partial distinction between the two problematic gaming groups. Conclusions: The IGDS could be shown to be an overall suitable and valid tool to identify pathological gamers in childhood and adolescence according to the DSM-5 criteria on a population level. However, the polythetic structure limits comparability with the recent ICD-11 criteria. At-risk gamers appeared as a heterogeneous group warranting more research.
Highlights
Accepted: 22 January 2021The use of digital games has significantly increased during recent years and especially the last months [1]
There is sparse knowledge concerning at-risk gamers. Can they be separated from normal and pathological gamers as e.g., suggested by Milani et al [15]? the present study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale (IGDS) in children and adolescents considering different age and sex groups
The original IGDS items should be retained for research purposes but we suggest to reword the item for the DSM-5 criterion escape in future Internet gaming disorder (IGD) measures
Summary
Accepted: 22 January 2021The use of digital games has significantly increased during recent years and especially the last months [1]. Children and adolescents are prone to these media since a lot of games are designed to address their special interests and support strong attachment by graphics, stories, and the application of intermittent reward system techniques [4,5]. Their frequency and daily time spent with games on electronic devices significantly increased under the first lockdown measures of the COVID-19 pandemic [6]. Conclusions: The IGDS could be shown to be an overall suitable and valid tool to identify pathological gamers in childhood and adolescence according to the DSM-5 criteria on a population level. At-risk gamers appeared as a heterogeneous group warranting more research
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