Should Internet gaming disorder be considered a subtype of generalized problematic internet use? Findings from a study among medical college students

Jun 20, 2020Perspectives in psychiatric care

Is Internet Gaming Disorder a Type of General Problematic Internet Use? Results from Medical Students

AI simplified

Circadian Biology on OpenScience ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Abstract

Less than 45.45% of participants with Internet gaming disorder (IGD) also met the criteria for generalized problematic Internet use (PIU).

Only 6.67% of participants with generalized PIU were classified as having IGD.
Male gender and daily time spent on digital gaming are linked to a higher risk of IGD.
Greater daily Internet usage and frequent social networking usage are associated with increased risk of generalized PIU.
Statistical models demonstrated significant relationships for both IGD and generalized PIU, explaining 66.1% and 57.4% of variance, respectively.
IGD and generalized PIU appear to be conceptually distinct and should not be treated as subtypes of one another.

AI simplified

PURPOSE: The current study aimed to explore whether Internet gaming disorder (IGD) should be considered a subtype of generalised problematic Internet use (PIU) by assessing the degree of overlap between them and comparing their correlates. The sociodemographic profile and presence of depressive symptoms were studied as correlates for IGD and generalised PIU.

DESIGN AND METHODS: This was a self-report survey administered online among medical students (n = 306).

FINDING: Less than half of the participants with IGD (45.45%; 5 out of 11) also met the criteria for generalised PIU. Only 6.67% (5 out of 75) of subjects with generalised PIU were also classified as having IGD. Male gender and time spent on digital gaming per day were associated with greater risk of IGD; whereas the time spent on Internet per day and more frequent use of the Internet for social networking rather than academic purposes were associated with greater risk of generalised PIU. The regression models built for IGD and generalised PIU were statistically significant (F = 64.10; P < .01 and F = 80.97; P < .01, respectively). The two models explained 66.1% and 57.4% of the variance in IGDS-SF and GPIUS2 scores, respectively.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The IGD and generalised PIU appear to be conceptually distinct entities. The IGD should not be assumed as a subtype of generalised PIU. Thus, health care providers need to focus on IGD beyond and besides generalised PIU. There is a need to specifically enquire about IGD while screening for behavioural addictions involving use of Internet.

Full Text

Full text is available at the source.

View full text (PDF) ↗View full text (XML) ↗View full text ↗

Should Internet gaming disorder be considered a subtype of generalized problematic internet use? Findings from a study among medical college students

Abstract

Full Text

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the circadian biology brief

Abstract

Full Text

Related papers

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the circadian biology brief