Compulsive video gaming

Objective : This study aimed to understand COVID-19 pandemic impacts on anxiety, depression, and addictive/excessive behaviors, with exploration of intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and social connectedness as potential moderators. Participants: Adult college students participated. Method: Our online survey assessed symptoms and behaviors prior to COVID-19, during the initial outbreak (Wave 1), and during early 2021 (Wave 2). Results: Significant increases were found in anxiety, depression, binge eating, sexual behaviors, video game playing, internet/social media usage, and compulsive exercise in both waves...

Video-game loot boxes are a popular form of microtransaction that have been widely criticized for their structural similarities to gambling. Recent research linking loot box expenditure to gambling activity has illuminated potential harms associated with loot box use. However, whether the harms differ between earning loot boxes through gameplay versus acquiring loot boxes through purchasing remains understudied. This pre-registered study explores gambling, gaming and loot box-related harms between loot box purchasers and earners in the scope of the game Overwatch...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Modern methods of communication and engagement, such as social media, video games, and online shopping, use a variety of behavioral techniques to encourage and reward frequent use, opening the door to addiction. The technological addictions (TAs) are a set of disorders that accompany the technological advances that define the digital age. The TAs are an active source of research in the literature, with promising treatment options already available. RECENT FINDINGS: There are promising therapeutic and psychopharmacologic treatments for a broad range of TAs...

There is a growing body of research that seeks to understand the aetiology, consequences and risk factors associated with addictive behaviours in youths. However, research examining the specific profile of adolescent females is very limited. Therefore, the objectives of the present study were, firstly, to explore the differences between attachment, gambling motives (social enhancement and coping), positive and negative affect, and addictive behaviours (gambling, drugs, spending, alcohol and video games) in female adolescents with and without risk of gambling problems...

Qualitative studies have identified a diverse array of motivations for purchasing items within video games through chance-based mechanisms (i.e., "loot boxes"). Given that some individuals-particularly those at risk of disordered gaming and/or gambling-are prone to over-involvement with loot box purchasing, it is important to have a reliable, valid means of measuring the role of different motivations in driving purchasing behaviour. Building on prior qualitative research, this paper reports the development and validation of the "RAFFLE" scale, to measure the Reasons and Facilitators for Loot box Engagement...

BACKGROUND: Transversal grouping of addictions under the heading "Substance related and addictive disorders" in the DSM-5 has led to a common policy on addictions and the promotion of addiction services covering all types of addictions, including behavioral addictions. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The main objective of this study was to describe the prevalence of problem gambling in a population of patients seeking treatment in addictive disorders center. Secondary objectives were: to describe the use of Internet and the prevalence of gaming disorder, sexual addiction and compulsive buying online ; to describe a population of patients consulting in addictive disorders center; to explore associated factors related to problem gambling...

In recent decades, it has been recognized that certain behaviors resemble addictions to alcohol and other psychoactive substances (PAS). Based on the results of research for such behaviors, many authors have found that it is justified to consider them addictions not related to PAS or "behavioral" addictions and that in the classifications of mental disorders should be in the same group with addictions related to PAS. Compulsive activities that may include gambling, Internet use, playing video games, sex, eating, and shopping based on epidemiological and neurobiological characteristics have similarities to PAS addictions...

Behavioral addiction is identified as any compulsive, repeated, and persistent behavior that leads to significant and functionally impairing harm or distress. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of internet, video-gaming, and pornography addictions among medical students in Western region. In addition, we intend to investigate the relationship between these behavioral addictions with stress and anxiety. Our study was a cross-sectional study with a sample size of 225. The study participants were medical students in their 3rd, 4th, and 5th academic years from five different medical colleges in Western region...

Co-occurrence of drug misuse with other dysregulated behaviors is common. This study was aimed at exploring the associations between the risk of presenting a clinically relevant condition involving non-substance-related addictive or dysregulated behaviors (as measured by the MultiCAGE CAD-4 screening), and cannabis abuse/dependence (CAST/SDS) scores, and the role of gender therein. Participants were recruited using stratified probabilistic sampling at the University of Granada. Mann-Whitney's U tests were used to compare male and female students in SDS and CAST scores...

Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) has been included in the DSM-5 as a diagnosis for further study, and Gaming Disorder as a new diagnosis in the ICD-11. Nonetheless, little is known about the clinical prevalence of IGD in children and adolescents. Additionally, it is unclear if patients with IGD are already identified in routine psychotherapy, using the ICD-10 diagnosis F 63.8 (recommended classification of IGD in ICD-10). This study investigated N = 358 children and adolescents (self and parental rating) of an outpatient psychotherapy centre in Germany using the Video Game Dependency Scale...

Esports is an electronic sport known as competitive video gaming, which has seen tremendous growth over the past few years. Unlike traditional sports such as hockey, baseball, and soccer, Esports is an interconnection of multiple platforms, computing, gaming, and media into a sport event. A systematic review was conducted to collate and review all the research studies concerning Esports from a health perspective and analyze various physical and psychological distress regarding Esports. Relevant published papers were identified through the electronic databases Google Scholar, PubMed, and Research Gate...

Pay-to-Win gaming describes a common type of video game design in which players can pay to advance in the game. The frequency and value of payments is unlimited, and payments are linked to players' competitiveness or progress in the game, which can potentially facilitate problematic behavioral patterns, similar to those known from gambling. Our analyses focus on assessing similarities and differences between Pay-to-Win and different forms of gambling. Based on a survey among 46,136 German adult internet users, this study presents the demographic and socio-economic profile of (1) Pay-to-Win gamers who make purchases in such games, (2) heavy users who conduct daily payments, and (3) gamers who are also gamblers...

The overarching goal of video games is to amuse the end-users by means of interactive systems that are now existent across numerous platforms such as personal computer, mobile phones, tablets and game consoles. Player Unknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) is a multiplayer online game. The addiction of PUBG is soaring worldwide and it has thick user-base. It is suggested that inhuman attitudes such as lack of empathy and war-related sentiments are likely to emerge among children who play aggressive and violent games like PUBG...

Online gaming is a very common form of leisure among adolescents and young people, although its excessive and/or compulsive use is associated with psychological impairments in a minority of gamers. The latest (fifth) edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5, Section III) tentatively introduced Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). Since then, a number of evaluation tools using the DSM-5 criteria have been developed, including the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form (IGDS9-SF)...

Monetized video games have received academic and regulatory scrutiny following concerns that these products may foster addiction-like behaviors, including compulsive spending. Previous studies have reported that individuals with markedly higher in-game financial expenditure are more likely to endorse symptoms of addictive behavior (i.e., gaming or gambling disorder). The present study recruited 428 adult Fortnite players from online forums and investigated gaming motivations and behaviors, as well as online social network influences, in relation to microtransaction spending and gaming disorder (GD) symptoms...

Effectiveness of an early intervention program for adolescents with Internet Gaming and Internet Use Disorder: Medium-term effects of the PROTECT+ Study Abstract. Objective: Internet Gaming and Internet Use Disorder (IGD and IUD) have gained increasing attention in the scientific community over the last few years. The inclusion of "Gaming Disorder" in the ICD-11 (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems) promoted the need for evidence-based and effective treatments...

The Internet is now all-pervasive across much of the globe. While it has positive uses (e.g. prompt access to information, rapid news dissemination), many individuals develop Problematic Use of the Internet (PUI), an umbrella term incorporating a range of repetitive impairing behaviours. The Internet can act as a conduit for, and may contribute to, functionally impairing behaviours including excessive and compulsive video gaming, compulsive sexual behaviour, buying, gambling, streaming or social networks use...

Behavioral addictions such as gambling, video games, sex, and shopping share many clinical features with substance use addictions including etiology, course, and neurobiology. Yet, the treatment of behavioral and substance use addictions tends to be separated. However, we argue that a more effective and efficient treatment approach is to conceptualize behavioral and substance use addictions as different expressions of a common underlying disorder and, in treatment, to address the underlying mechanisms common to both...

Excessive digital gaming is emerging as a mental health disorder because youngsters are losing control of their lives by wasting their time by indulging in online multiplayer games. The popularity of the games can be gauged by the fact that India's online gaming market of US $360 million is expected to grow to $ 1 billion by 2021. Video gaming is an obsessive compulsive disorder. The players enjoy creating and building relationships with other online characters, which provides a virtual community feeling at the expense of one-to-one social interactions and real life bonding...

The addictive use of video games is recognized as a problem with clinical relevance and is included in international diagnostic manuals and classifications of diseases. The association between "Internet addiction" and mental health has been well documented across a range of investigations. However, a major drawback of these studies is that no controls have been placed on the type of Internet use investigated. The aim of this study is to review systematically the current literature in order to explore the association between Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and psychopathology...