Presentation Information
[P-3-05]Internet addiction is associated with stronger psychopathological symptoms than Internet gaming disorder in three adolescent samples from China
*yingying li, tao li, wanjun guo (Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China(China))
Keywords:
Internet gaming disorder,Internet addiction,psychopathology
Background and aims. Both Internet gaming disorder and Internet addiction have been associated with diverse psychopathologies, but how the two conditions relate to each other is unclear. Here we compared their associations with each other and with several types of psychopathology symptoms.
Design, setting and participants. This cross-sectional study surveyed three independent samples: 8125 first-year undergraduates at a large university, 1720 high school students, and 492 inpatients 13-19 years old at two tertiary mental health centers.
Measurements. Internet gaming disorder was defined as a score >= 21 on the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-9 Short Form (IGDS9-SF), while Internet addiction was defined as a score >= 50 on Young’s 20-item Internet Addiction Test (IAT-20). Symptoms of depression, anxiety, psychoticism, paranoid ideation and attention deficit-hyperactivity were assessed using internationally validated surveys.
Findings. Across the three samples, the frequency of scores on the IGDS9-SF and IAT-20 correlated moderately with each other (r = 0.51-0.55) and with severity of most types of psychopathological symptoms in all three samples, with IAT-20 scores linked to more severe symptoms. In all three samples, psychopathological symptoms were significantly less severe among those with only Internet gaming disorder than among those with Internet addiction alone or together with Internet gaming disorder.
Conclusions. Internet gaming disorder and Internet addiction appear to be distinct disorders that correlate with each other. Both are associated with diverse psychopathological symptoms, and Internet addiction is generally more severe.
Design, setting and participants. This cross-sectional study surveyed three independent samples: 8125 first-year undergraduates at a large university, 1720 high school students, and 492 inpatients 13-19 years old at two tertiary mental health centers.
Measurements. Internet gaming disorder was defined as a score >= 21 on the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-9 Short Form (IGDS9-SF), while Internet addiction was defined as a score >= 50 on Young’s 20-item Internet Addiction Test (IAT-20). Symptoms of depression, anxiety, psychoticism, paranoid ideation and attention deficit-hyperactivity were assessed using internationally validated surveys.
Findings. Across the three samples, the frequency of scores on the IGDS9-SF and IAT-20 correlated moderately with each other (r = 0.51-0.55) and with severity of most types of psychopathological symptoms in all three samples, with IAT-20 scores linked to more severe symptoms. In all three samples, psychopathological symptoms were significantly less severe among those with only Internet gaming disorder than among those with Internet addiction alone or together with Internet gaming disorder.
Conclusions. Internet gaming disorder and Internet addiction appear to be distinct disorders that correlate with each other. Both are associated with diverse psychopathological symptoms, and Internet addiction is generally more severe.