Development and validation of the resource loss due to reduction in gaming time scale among adolescent internet gamers in China

Feb 22, 2023Addictive behaviors

Measuring how reducing gaming time causes resource loss in Chinese teenage internet gamers

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Circadian Biology on OpenScience ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Abstract

The prevalence of internet gaming disorder (IGD) among secondary school students is 10.9%.

A majority of students (74.2%) intended to reduce their gaming time.
A new scale to assess personal and interpersonal resource losses due to reduced gaming time was developed.
Exploratory and confirmatory analyses confirmed a two-factor model for the scale.
The scale demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency and concurrent validity, but notable floor effects were present.
These findings support the Conservation of Resource (COR) theory in the context of internet gaming.

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BACKGROUND: Adolescent internet gaming disorder (IGD) is prevalent and positively associated with gaming time, a reduction of which is a common means of IGD prevention/treatment. Personal/interpersonal resource losses due to the reduction in gaming time (RL-RGT) are plausible. According to the Conservation of Resource (COR) theory, RL-RGT may cause mental distress and maladaptive behaviors. No study has investigated such relationships, partially due to the lack of validated tools assessing RL-RGT. This study aimed to develop and validate such a scale (RL-RGTS).

METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in four secondary schools in Guangzhou, China (October to December 2019). Secondary school students who had played internet games in the last 12 months participated in this study (n = 944), irrespective of their IGD status and intention to reduce gaming time. Using a deductive approach, an expert panel generated the 19 scale items. The half-split method was used to conduct exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses.

RESULTS: The prevalence of IGD and intention to reduce gaming time were 10.9% and 74.2%, respectively. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses identified a 2-factor model (personal loss and interpersonal loss). Psychometric properties (internal consistency, no ceiling effect, and concurrent validity) were satisfactory, but noticeable floor effects were observed.

CONCLUSIONS: The RL-RGTS could be applied to understand potential side effects and obstacles regarding interventions reducing IGD through reducing gaming time. The findings support the COR theory and extend its applications to internet gaming research. Validations in other populations are warranted.

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Development and validation of the resource loss due to reduction in gaming time scale among adolescent internet gamers in China

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