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Internet gaming may be less addictive than gambling
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Most individuals who played internet games reported no symptoms of addictive gaming behavior, according to recent findings.
“The APA has identified internet gaming disorder as a potential psychiatric disorder that might merit inclusion in a future revision of the DSM. In line with this possibility, the APA Substance-Related Disorders Work Group has called for basic research exploring internet gaming disorder prevalence, validity of internet gaming disorder diagnostic criteria, and cross-cultural reliability and criteria,” Andrew K. Przybylski, PhD, of University of Oxford, United Kingdom, and colleagues wrote.
To address this research gap, researchers analyzed four survey studies with large international cohorts (n = 18,932).
More than half of internet game players reported no indicators of internet gaming disorder and the proportion decreased as the number of indicators increased.
Overall, nearly 2.4% of internet game players exhibited potentially dysregulated gaming.
Analysis indicated that between 0.3% and 1% of the general population may qualify for a potential acute diagnosis of internet gaming disorder.
Internet-based games may be significantly less addictive than gambling and similarly dysregulating as more general electronic games, according to researchers.
“Contrary to what was predicted, the study did not find a clear link between potential addiction and negative effects on health, however, more research grounded in open and robust scientific practices is needed to learn if games are truly as addictive as many fear,” Przybylski said in a press release. “If clear evidence does emerge, this would have huge clinical significance as treatments for addicted gamers would vie with a range of serious psychiatric disorders in the current climate of limited health service resources.” – by Amanda Oldt
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.