The prevalence and possible risk factors of gaming disorder among adolescents in China.

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, moderate gaming behaviors can be a pleasant and relaxing experiences among adolescents. However, excessive gaming behavior may lead to gaming disorder (GD) that disruption of normal daily life. Understanding the possible risk factors of this emerging problem would help to suggest effective at preventing and intervening. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of GD and analyze its possible risk factors that adolescents with GD. METHODS: Data were collected between October 2020 and January 2021. In total, a sample of 7901 students (4080 (52%) boys, 3742 (48%) girls; aged 12-18 years) completed questionnaires regarding the Gaming-Related Behaviors Survey, Gaming Disorder Symptom Questionnaire-21 (GDSQ-21); Behavioral Inhibition System and Behavioral Activation System Scale (BIS/BAS Scale); Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ); Short-form Egna Minnenav Barndoms Uppfostran for Chinese (s-EMBU-C); and Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Checklist (ASLEC). RESULTS: The prevalence of GD was 2.27% in this adolescent sample. The GD gamers were a little bit older (i.e., a higher proportion of senior grades), more boys, with more gaming hours per week in the last 12 months, with more reward responsiveness, maternal rejecting and occurrence of negative life events (e.g., interpersonal relationships, being punished and bereavement factors). CONCLUSION: These possible risk factors may influence the onset of GD. Future research in clinical, public health, education and other fields should focus on these aspects for provide target prevention and early intervention strategies.

Effect of digital game intervention on cognitive functions in older adults: a multiple baseline single case experimental design study.

BACKGROUND: Residents in nursing homes are prone to cognitive decline affecting memory, visuospatial cognition, and executive functions. Cognitive decline can lead to dementia, necessitating prioritized intervention. METHODS: The current study aimed to investigate whether an intervention using a digital game was effective for preserving and improving the cognitive function of residents in nursing homes. An intervention study was conducted using a single-case AB design with multiple baselines. The participants in the study were five older adults aged 65 and over who do not play digital games regularly. The study ran for 15 weeks, including a baseline (phase A) and an intervention phase (phase B). Phase A had five baselines (5 to 9 weeks) with random participant assignment. In phase B, participants engaged in a digital game (Space Invaders) individually. Cognitive function was assessed as the outcome, measured using the Brain Assessment (performed on a tablet through the Internet) at 16 measurement points. Four of five participants (two female and two male) were included in the analysis, using visual inspection and Bayesian statistics with multi-level modeling. RESULTS: Visual inspection of the graphs revealed cognitive function score improvements after the intervention for most layers in terms of memory of numbers, memory of words, mental rotation test (visuospatial ability), and total scores in the Brain Assessment. These effects were also significant in the analysis by multi-level modeling. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the use of digital games may be effective for preserving and improving cognitive function among residents of nursing home. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was registered in the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN000048677; public title: Effect of a Digital Game Intervention for Cognitive Functions in Older People; registration date: August 30, 2022).

A controversial issue in adolescents: Is the effect of digital games on creative personality traits positive or negative?

AIM: This study aimed to determine the effect of digital games on the creativity of adolescents. METHODS: This study was designed as a cross-sectional study using simple random sampling following the STROBE checklist. It was conducted with 384 adolescents between January and June 2022. Data were collected using the Digital Game Addiction Scale for Children and the Creative Personality Traits Scale. RESULTS: The adolescents were at risk for digital game addiction and had moderate creativity levels. The adolescents who had a male sex, had mothers who received primary education, started playing digital games before the age of 6 years, were using the internet for >5 h a day, had no activity other than playing digital games, and preferred action, adventure, and fighting games had higher digital game addiction levels than the other adolescents. In addition, the male adolescents had higher creativity levels than the female adolescents. There was a significant negative relationship between digital game addiction and creative personality traits among the adolescents. Digital game addiction had a negative effect on creativity. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents are at risk for digital game addiction and have moderate creativity levels. Digital game addiction negatively affects the development of creative personality traits. Interventions should be planned to prevent digital game addiction among adolescents, and adolescents should be guided to increase awareness of the effects of digital games on their creativity.

Are serious games an alternative to traditional personality questionnaires? Initial analysis of a gamified assessment.

Personality questionnaires stand as crucial instruments in personnel selection but their limitations turn the interest towards alternatives like game-related assessments (GRAs). GRAs developed for goals other than fun are called serious games. Within them, gamified assessments are serious games that share similarities with traditional assessments (questionnaires, situational judgment tests, etc.) but they incorporate game elements like story, music, and game dynamics. This paper aims to contribute to the research on serious games as an alternative to traditional personality questionnaires by analyzing the characteristics of a gamified assessment called VASSIP. This gamified assessment, based on an existing measure of the Big Five personality traits, incorporates game elements such as storyfication, immersion, and non-evaluable gamified dynamics. The study performed included 98 university students (77.6% with job experience) as participants. They completed the original personality measure (BFI-2-S), the gamified evaluation of personality (VASSIP), a self-report measure of the main dimensions of job performance (task performance, contextual performance, and counterproductive work behaviors), and measures of applicant reactions to BFI-2-S and VASSIP. Results showed that the gamified assessment behaved similarly to the original personality measure in terms of reliability and participants' scores, although the scores in Conscientiousness were substantially higher in VASSIP. Focusing on self-reports of the three dimensions of job performance, regression models showed that the gamified assessment could explain all of them. Regarding applicant reactions, the gamified assessment obtained higher scores in perceptions of comfort, predictive validity, and attractiveness, although the effect size was small except for the latter. Finally, all applicant reactions except for attractiveness were related to age and personality traits. In conclusion, gamified assessments have the potential to be an alternative to traditional personality questionnaires but VASSIP needs more research before its application in actual selection processes.

Understanding Patient Perspectives on the Use of Gamification and Incentives in mHealth Apps to Improve Medication Adherence: Qualitative Study.

BACKGROUND: Medication nonadherence remains a significant health and economic burden in many high-income countries. Emerging smartphone interventions have started to use features such as gamification and financial incentives with varying degrees of effectiveness on medication adherence and health outcomes. A more consistent approach to applying these features, informed by patient perspectives, may result in more predictable and beneficial results from this type of intervention. OBJECTIVE: This qualitative study aims to identify patient perspectives on the use of gamification and financial incentives in mobile health (mHealth) apps for medication adherence in Australian patients taking medication for chronic conditions. METHODS: A total of 19 participants were included in iterative semistructured web-based focus groups conducted between May and December 2022. The facilitator used exploratory prompts relating to mHealth apps, gamification, and financial incentives, along with concepts raised from previous focus groups. Transcriptions were independently coded to develop a set of themes. RESULTS: Three themes were identified: purpose-driven design, trust-based standards, and personal choice. All participants acknowledged gamification and financial incentives as potentially effective features in mHealth apps for medication adherence. However, they also indicated that the effectiveness heavily depended on implementation and execution. Major concerns relating to gamification and financial incentives were perceived trivialization and potential for medication abuse, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The study's findings provide a foundation for developers seeking to apply these novel features in an app intervention for a general cohort of patients. However, the study highlights the need for standards for mHealth apps for medication adherence, with particular attention to the use of gamification and financial incentives. Future research with patients and stakeholders across the mHealth app ecosystem should be explored to formalize and validate a set of standards or framework.

The relationship between game genre, monetization strategy and symptoms of gaming disorder in a clinical sample of adolescents.

Background: Gaming disorder (GD) has been introduced as a new diagnosis in the International Classification of Disease 11 (ICD-11). Currently, there's limited understanding of how various video games may differentially contribute to the risk of developing GD. The main aim of this study was to examine the relationship between individuals' game genre preferences, their preferred games' monetization strategies, and GD Symptoms. Methods: A total of 85 patients undergoing treatment for GD at a child and youth psychiatric clinic were included in the study. Their preferred games were classified into five novel genres based on gameplay similarities and objectives, and further categorized based on their monetization strategy. Results: Symptom burden of GD, measured with Game Addiction Scale for Adolescents (GASA), was highest for those playing Free-to-Play (F2P) games and lowest for Pay-to-Play (P2P) players. Players of Competitive Games endorsed higher GD symptom burden, whereas players of Story-driven games reported lower GD symptom burden. Symptoms of GD were associated with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis in males. Conclusions: This study reveals that game genre preference is influenced by sex, age, and certain psychiatric diagnoses. The categorizing of games into genres is increasingly complex and our research introduces a novel categorization in a developing research field. The result of this study suggests that the monetization model is important to consider while trying to understand the relationship between game characteristics and GD symptoms.

The mediating effect of dispositional mindfulness on the association between UPPS-P impulsivity traits and gaming disorder among Asia-Pacific young adults.

BACKGROUND: Little evidence is available to verify the mediating effect of dispositional mindfulness on the association between gaming disorder and various impulsivity traits. The present study aimed to investigate the mediating effect of dispositional mindfulness on the association between the five UPPS-P impulsivity traits and the risk of gaming disorder among young adults. METHODS: It was an inter-regional cross-sectional study using online survey in Australia, Japan, The Philippines and China. Impulsivity measured by the UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale-Short version; dispositional mindfulness measured by the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale; and the risk of gaming disorder measured by the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale were collected in the focal regions. Structural equation modeling was performed by SPSS AMOS version 26 to verify the study hypotheses. Bootstrapped 95% confidence interval was reported. Statistical significance was indicated by the p-value below 0.05. RESULTS: Among the 1,134 returned questionnaires, about 40% of them aged 18-20 years and 21-23 years, respectively. 53.8% were male. 40.7% had been playing digital and video games for over 10 years. The prevalence of gaming disorder was 4.32%. The model fitness indices reflected that the constructed model had an acceptable model fit (χ2(118) = 558.994, p < 0.001; χ2/df = 4.737; CFI = 0.924; TLI = 0.890; GFI = 0.948; RMSEA = 0.058; SRMR = 0.0487). Dispositional mindfulness fully mediated the effect of positive urgency and negative urgency on the risk of gaming disorder. The effect of lack of premeditation on the risk of gaming disorder was partially mediated by dispositional mindfulness. However, dispositional mindfulness did not mediate the effect of sensation seeking on the risk of gaming disorder. CONCLUSIONS: The varied associations between dispositional mindfulness and the five impulsivity traits hints that improving some impulsive traits may increase dispositional mindfulness and so lower the risk of gaming disorder. Despite further studies are needed to verify the present findings, it sheds light on the need to apply interventions on gamers based on their impulsivity profile. Interventions targeting at emotion regulation and self-control such as mindfulness-based interventions seem to be effective to help gamers with dominant features of urgency and lack of premeditation only. Other interventions shall be considered for gamers with high sensation seeking tendency to enhance the effectiveness of gaming disorder prevention.

Less bang for my buck: Diminished anticipated enjoyment contributes to dysphoria-linked deficit in activity behavioural engagement choice.

This study experimentally investigated the role of anticipated enjoyment and effort in mediating dysphoria-related deficit in activity engagement behavioural choice. Using a novel activity information processing task (about a fictional "new" Nintendo Wii sports game called "Tornado Ball"), N = 249 participants (n = 95 High Dysphoria; n = 154 Low Dysphoria) were presented information about the benefits (enjoyable features) and costs (mental and physical effort barriers) as product reviews from another player. The order of cost vs. benefit information was manipulated such that participants either heard cost information before benefit information, or vice versa. They then rated what their anticipated enjoyment and effort will be if they were to play Tornado Ball, before being given the opportunity to choose to try it themselves or not. The High Dysphoria group reported lower anticipated enjoyment (but not higher effort) relative to the Low Dysphoria group, but only when cost information was presented first. Importantly, a moderated mediation showed that the High Dysphoria group reported lower tendency to choose activity engagement (game play) as a function of having lower anticipated enjoyment, but only when cost information was presented first. The present finding indicate that reduced anticipated enjoyment may causally contribute to dysphoria-linked deficits in activity engagement behavioural choice.

Validation of the ACSID-11 for consistent screening of specific Internet-use disorders based on ICD-11 criteria for gaming disorder: A multitrait-multimethod approach.

INTRODUCTION: With the inclusion of gaming disorder in the ICD-11, diagnostic criteria were introduced for this relatively new disorder. These criteria may be applied to other potential specific Internet-use disorders. The 11-item Assessment of Criteria for Specific Internet-use Disorders (ACSID-11) was developed for consistent screening of gaming disorder, online buying-shopping disorder, online pornography-use disorder, social networks-use disorder, and online gambling disorder. This study tested the construct validity of the ACSID-11, including convergent and divergent measures. METHODS: The ACSID-11 measures five behavioral addictions with the same set of items by following the principles of the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST). The ACSID-11 was administered to a convenience sample of active Internet users (N = 1597) together with validated and established measures of each specific Internet-use disorder along with screeners for mental health. Included are the Ten-Item Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGDT-10), the Bergen Shopping Addiction Scale (BSAS), the Problematic Pornography Consumption Scale (PPCS), the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) and the Berlin Inventory of Gambling behavior - Screening (BIG-S). The ACSID-11 was compared convergently and divergently through a multitrait-multimethod approach along with contingency tables with the other Internet-use disorder screeners. RESULTS: The multitrait-multimethod results shows that each behavior assessed with the ACSID-11 has moderate to strong correlations (r's from 0.462 to 0.609) with the scores of the corresponding established measures and, furthermore, positive correlations (r's from 0.122 to 0.434) with measures of psychological distress and further shows that the ACSID-11 can be used for a comprehensive assessment of different behaviors. The contingency tables reveal large divergences between the ACSID-11 and other screening instruments concerning the classification of problematic specific Internet use based on the given cut-off values. CONCLUSION: The current work provides additional validation for the ACSID-11. Accordingly, this tool can be considered as reliable and valid for the simultaneous assessment of different Internet-use disorders: gaming disorder, online buying-shopping disorder, online pornography use disorder, social networks use disorder, and online gambling disorder. With a subsequent clinical validation of the scale and the proposed cut-off score, the ACSID-11 will be a thoroughly validated useful screening tool for clinical practice.

Narrative Play-Promoting Adolescent Health With Interactive Games.

This Arts and Medicine feature discusses INSPIRE, a digital health game designed to foster adolescent health behavior change.

Impaired social reward processing in individuals with Internet gaming disorder and its relationship with early face perception.

Previous research has found that individuals with Internet gaming disorder (IGD) show different patterns of social function impairments in game-related and real-life social contexts. Impaired social reward processing may be the underlying mechanism according to the Social Motivation Theory. Thus, in this study, event-related potentials were recorded from 24 individuals with IGD and 24 healthy gamers during a social judgement task. We focused on reward positivity (RewP) elicited by game-related and real-life social rewards, and N170 elicited by game avatar faces and real faces. These indicators were used to explore the neurocognitive mechanism of impaired social reward processing in individuals with IGD and its relationship with early face perception. Results showed that (1) the RewP elicited by real-life social reward was considerably reduced in individuals with IGD relative to healthy gamers. (2) The N170 elicited by game avatar faces in individuals with IGD was larger than that elicited by real faces. However, the N170 was not associated with RewP in either group. (3) The score for IGD severity was correlated with the RewP elicited by real-life social reward and the N170 elicited by game avatar face. In conclusion, the present study suggests that the impaired social reward processing in individuals with IGD is mainly manifested in a decreased neural sensitivity to real-life social reward. Meanwhile, the reduced RewP elicited by real-life social reward and the enhanced N170 elicited by game avatar face might serve as potential biomarkers for IGD.

Symptoms and functional impairments in patients with Internet Use Disorders participating in an online short-term therapy.

BACKGROUND: Internet use disorders (IUD) have been recognized as a serious mental health concern. In order to promote consensus on core features of IUD, further studies involving clinical samples are required. AIMS: A clinical evaluation of patients with IUD was conducted as part of the scientific monitoring of a novel online short-term therapy, embedded in the randomized controlled trial Stepped Care Approach for Problematic Internet use Treatment (SCAPIT; ID: DRKS00025994). METHODS: An online diagnostic and a clinical assessment were performed at the baseline measurement of the online intervention. The self-report version of the Assessment of Internet and Computer Game Addiction (AICA-S) was applied to assess symptom severity of IUD. The impact of psychopathological symptoms and impairments of functioning on IUD symptomatology was examined in the sample of patients. Based on a dichotomous classification of the symptom severity of IUD, differences among participants presenting moderate compared to severe addictive Internet behavior were analyzed. RESULTS: The sample of this an analysis consisted of 57 patients (57.9% males, mean age of 29.12 years) participating in the online short-term therapy for IUD. Based on the AICA-S sum score (M = 11.60; SD = 3.30) participants exhibited moderate (n = 44; 77.2%) to severe (n = 13; 22.8%) symptoms of addictive Internet use. Psychopathological symptoms and impairments of psychosocial functioning had an effect on symptom severity of IUD. Participants with severe symptoms of IUD showed higher psychopathological strains compared to patients with moderate addictive Internet behavior. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical evaluation of patients participating in a novel online short-term therapy for IUD indicated that psychopathological symptoms and impairments of functioning have an impact on addictive Internet behaviors and consequently, need to be addressed in the treatment of IUD. Based on the results, further implications for clinical practice and research on addictive Internet behavior are derived.

Unveiling peripheral neuropathy and cognitive dysfunction in diabetes: an observational and proof-of-concept study with video games and sensor-equipped insoles.

Background: Proactive screening for cognitive dysfunction (CD) and peripheral neuropathy (PNP) in elderly patients with diabetes mellitus is essential for early intervention, yet clinical examination is time-consuming and prone to bias. Objective: We aimed to investigate PNP and CD in a diabetes cohort and explore the possibility of identifying key features linked with the respective conditions by machine learning algorithms applied to data sets obtained in playful games controlled by sensor-equipped insoles. Methods: In a cohort of patients diagnosed with diabetes (n=261) aged over 50 years PNP and CD were diagnosed based on complete physical examination (neuropathy symptom and disability scores, and Montreal Cognitive Assessment). In an observational and proof-of-concept study patients performed a 15 min lasting gaming session encompassing tutorials and four video games with 5,244 predefined features. The steering of video games was solely achieved by modulating plantar pressure values, which were measured by sensor-equipped insoles in real-time. Data sets were used to identify key features indicating game performance with correlation regarding CD and PNP findings. Thereby, machine learning models (e.g. gradient boosting and lasso and elastic-net regularized generalized linear models) were set up to distinguish patients in the different groups. Results: PNP was diagnosed in 59% (n=153), CD in 34% (n=89) of participants, and 23% (n=61) suffered from both conditions. Multivariable regression analyses suggested that PNP was positively associated with CD in patients with diabetes (adjusted odds ratio = 1.95; 95% confidence interval: 1.03-3.76; P=0.04). Predictive game features were identified that significantly correlated with CD (n=59), PNP (n=40), or both (n=59). These features allowed to set up classification models that were enriched by individual risk profiles (i.e. gender, age, weight, BMI, diabetes type, and diabetes duration). The obtained models yielded good predictive performance with the area under the receiver-operating-characteristic curves reaching 0.95 for CD without PNP, 0.83 for PNP without CD, and 0.84 for CD and PNP combined. Conclusions: The video game-based assessment was able to categorize patients with CD and/or PNP with high accuracy. Future studies with larger cohorts are needed to validate these results and potentially enhance the discriminative power of video games.

[Primary prevention of computer game addiction in students of educational institutions]. / Pervichnaya profilaktika komp'yuternoi igrovoi zavisimosti u uchashchikhsya obshcheobrazovatel'nykh uchrezhdenii.

OBJECTIVE: To conduct the primary prevention of computer game addiction (PPCGA) in students of General education institutions (GEI), aimed at preventing the formation of CGA. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 488 students in grades 7-10 of GEI aged 12-17 years (14.6±2.4 years), of which 393 adolescents, who made up the main group, received PPCGA and 95 - control, without PPCGA. RESULTS: Preventive measures were carried out without interrupting the educational process; they were carried out by addiction psychiatrists and medical psychologists. PPCGA was aimed at teaching students a healthy lifestyle, the development of their personal resources, the formation of skills to overcome problem situations, a change in the value attitude to computer games and the formation of alternative interests. In the main group, a decrease in the time interval spent by students at the computer was found (p<0.05). There was a decrease in the number of students (p<0.05), experiencing affective disorders when abstaining from the computer, including mild depression and subclinically expressed anxiety/depression, for whom computer games could lead to problems and negative consequences. An increase in the interval of time spent by students at the computer (p<0.05); an increase in the number of students experiencing affective disorders when abstaining from the computer (p<0.05); a trend towards the increase in the frequency of problems and delayed meetings and personal matters related to spending time at the computer; an increase in clearly uncommunicative (p<0.05) were found in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Primary prevention of computer gaming increase the number of students who prefer a healthy lifestyle (physical education and sports, rational nutrition, sex education, family relationships) and reduce the number of people who prefer computer games as a form of leisure.

EEG components of inhibitory control ability in internet gaming disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Inhibitory control ability is a crucial cognitive function that enables individuals to regulate their impulses and behaviors in a goal-directed manner. However, with the increasing prevalence of internet gaming disorder (IGD), there has been growing concern about the impact of excessive gaming on inhibitory control ability. Despite the accumulating evidence on this topic, the research conclusion on whether people with IGD have worse inhibition control ability than healthy controls remains inconsistent, and the lack of effective electroencephalography prediction indicators further complicates this issue. To address this research gap, the present study aimed to investigate whether N2 event-related potential (ERP) and P3 ERP components could serve as reliable indicators of inhibitory control ability in individuals with IGD. METHODS: To achieve this goal, a systematic literature search was conducted in several databases, including Web of Science, ScienceDirect (EBSCO), SpringerLink, PubMed, and Wiley Online Library. The inclusion criteria were strictly implemented to ensure the quality of the studies included in the meta-analysis. In the end, a total of 5 studies, with 139 participants diagnosed with IGD and 139 healthy controls, were included in the analysis. RESULTS: Meta-analysis revealed large effect sizes of N2 and P3 amplitudes in individuals with IGD, indicating that these two ERP components could be potential indicators of inhibitory control ability. Specifically, the N2 and P3 amplitude was significantly larger in individuals with IGD than in the healthy control group, suggesting deficits in inhibitory control function and increased impulsivity in the IGD group. In the inhibition control task, the IGD group required more cognitive resources to suppress impulsive responses. CONCLUSION: Overall, the findings of this meta-analysis shed light on the potential use of N2 and P3 amplitudes as reliable indicators of inhibitory control ability in individuals with IGD. The results provide crucial insights into the neural mechanisms underlying inhibitory control impairment in IGD, which could inform the development of effective interventions for this condition. Further research is needed to explore the functional significance of these ERP components and their potential clinical applications in the diagnosis and treatment of IGD.

Impulsivity and aggression as risk factors for internet gaming disorder among university students.

Internet gaming addiction is a global problem, especially among young individuals. Exhibiting characteristics similar to other addictions, Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) is linked to adverse mental health outcomes. Identified as risk factors for dependence behaviors, the association of impulsivity and aggression with IGD is relatively under-researched in the student population. The present sample of 350 university students (Mage = 21.30 years, SDage = 4.96 years) from Najran university in Saudi Arabia completed an online questionnaire that included the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short-Form (IGDS9-SF), the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire-Short Form, and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-15). Results indicated that impulsivity and aggression were positively associated with IGD severity and both personality traits explained 34.6% of the variance in IGD scores. Further bivariate analyses suggested that individuals spending 7 or more hours on internet gaming were more likely to exhibit high impulsivity and aggression, and had a relatively higher severity of IGD. These results suggest that individuals with these personality traits may be more vulnerable to developing an addiction to internet gaming. These findings need to be confirmed in future more robust studies; however, this exploratory study provides insights for potential programs to prevent IGD among young individuals.

Multimodal-based machine learning approach to classify features of internet gaming disorder and alcohol use disorder: A sensor-level and source-level resting-state electroencephalography activity and neuropsychological study.

OBJECTIVES: Addictions have recently been classified as substance use disorder (SUD) and behavioral addiction (BA), but the concept of BA is still debatable. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct further neuroscientific research to understand the mechanisms of BA to the same extent as SUD. The present study used machine learning (ML) algorithms to investigate the neuropsychological and neurophysiological aspects of addictions in individuals with internet gaming disorder (IGD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD). METHODS: We developed three models for distinguishing individuals with IGD from those with AUD, individuals with IGD from healthy controls (HCs), and individuals with AUD from HCs using ML algorithms, including L1-norm support vector machine, random forest, and L1-norm logistic regression (LR). Three distinct feature sets were used for model training: a unimodal-electroencephalography (EEG) feature set combined with sensor- and source-level feature; a unimodal-neuropsychological feature (NF) set included sex, age, depression, anxiety, impulsivity, and general cognitive function, and a multimodal (EEG + NF) feature set. RESULTS: The LR model with the multimodal feature set used for the classification of IGD and AUD outperformed the other models (accuracy: 0.712). The important features selected by the model highlighted that the IGD group had differential delta and beta source connectivity between right intrahemispheric regions and distinct sensor-level EEG activities. Among the NFs, sex and age were the important features for good model performance. CONCLUSIONS: Using ML techniques, we demonstrated the neurophysiological and neuropsychological similarities and differences between IGD (a BA) and AUD (a SUD).

The interplay between mental health and dosage for gaming disorder risk: a brief report.

The relationship between gaming time and gaming disorder can be moderated by other variables. This study aimed to test the moderating role of mental health. Participants (N = 461) were recruited online. Gaming time was a statistically significant predictor of gaming disorder risk, with an explained variance of 3.3%. The goodness of fit of the model that took into account both moderators (anxiety and depression) improved to 13.9%. The interaction between gaming time and both moderators was significant. The results showed that depression and anxiety acted as moderators of the dosage effect, possibly by amplifying the gratification of playing games and thus contributing to the development of gaming disorder. It may be important in practise, as it seems to place the mental health at the right place, namely among risk factors that can contribute to gaming disorder in combination with a key trigger, which is gaming.

Ten years of research on the treatments of internet gaming disorder: A scoping review and directions for future research.

Background: Although internet gaming disorder (IGD) has been listed in section III of the DSM-5 for approximately 10 years, the study of treatments for IGD remains in early stages. Nonetheless, a summary of findings to date and discussion of future research needs are warranted. Methods: The current study reviewed scientific treatment studies with control groups and randomized controlled trials. We summarized the strengths and weaknesses of different treatment strategies and identified gaps in the research literature that may inform the direction of future research efforts. Results: Sixteen studies were reviewed. Existing treatment studies may be categorized into cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), pharmacotherapies, non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS), and others. Conclusions: CBT is the most widely studied treatment strategy for IGD thus far. Future studies should consider IGD-specific CBT treatment strategies. Medication-based treatment should be implemented with caution. NIBS is promising, and future studies should explore the most efficacious parameters and targets. In addition, studies should consider sex differences in the treatment of IGD.

A three-wave longitudinal study on the underlying metacognitive mechanism between depression and Internet gaming disorder.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and depression have negative consequences on individuals' mental health, but their relationships are complex. This three-wave longitudinal study aimed to detect the metacognitive mechanisms underlying the association between IGD tendency and depression based on the self-regulatory executive function model. METHODS: A total of 1,243 Chinese undergraduate student gamers (57% female, M = 19.77, SD = 1.29) were recruited at the baseline survey (Wave 1 [W1]), with 622 and 574 of them taking part in the two follow-up surveys (Wave 2 [W2] at 6 and Wave 3 [W3] at 12 months later), respectively. RESULTS: The three-wave path model demonstrated, after controlling for the autoregressive effect of each variable, that depression consistently predicted IGD tendency but not vice versa, while negative but not positive metacognitions about online gaming (MOG) significantly predicted both depression and IGD tendency. Moreover, two statistically significant mediation paths: (i) negative MOG [W1] → depression [W2] → IGD tendency [W3]; and (ii) depression [W1] → negative MOG [W2] → IGD tendency [W3] were identified. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: These findings extend the understanding of the associations among depression, IGD tendency, and MOG, highlighting how negative MOG has a stronger prospective effect than positive MOG on depression and IGD tendency, and also reveal the mutual mediation effects of depression and negative MOG on IGD tendency. Integrated programmes with both emotional regulation training and Metacognitive Therapy are recommended for IGD treatment.