The DSM-5 and Internet Gaming Disorder: a new psychometric approach

Pontes, Halley and Király, O. and Demetrovics, Z. and Griffiths, M.D. The DSM-5 and Internet Gaming Disorder: a new psychometric approach. In: Multi.Player 2: International Conference on the Social Aspects of Digital Gaming, 14-15 Aug 2014, Münster, Germany. (Unpublished)

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.4532.1048

Abstract

Introduction: Following the growing concern about ‘gaming addiction’, official bodies such as the American Psychiatric Association (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) and numerous scholars (Griffiths, King & Demetrovics, 2014; King, Haagsma, Delfabbro, Gradisar & Griffiths, 2013; Petry & O'Brien, 2013; Petry et al., 2014). Have suggested the need for unification and consensus for the assessment of gaming addiction if this phenomenon is to be considered as an independent clinical entity in the future. Despite the increase of research over the last few years (Griffiths, Kuss & Daniel, 2012; Kuss & Griffiths, 2012), the field has been hindered by the use of inconsistent and non-standardised criteria to assess and identify problematic and/or addictive video game use (Griffiths et al., 2012). Moreover, this problem may be also reflected by the heterogeneity of nomenclatures used by researchers to address the same phenomenon including such terms as video game addiction (Griffiths, 1993), computer game playing dependence (Griffiths & Hunt, 1998), internet addiction disorder (Young, 1998), video game dependency (Rehbein, Psych, Kleimann, Mediasci & Mößle, 2010), problematic online gaming (Demetrovics et al., 2012), and pathological video-game use (Gentile, 2009). In addition to these issues, most psychometric tools developed for assessing behavioural addictions (including gaming addiction) have either used an ad hoc cut-off point or lacked a strong empirical base for establishing such cut-off points. In acknowledgement of the many studies now published in the area of problematic gaming, Section 3 of the fifth revision of the DSM (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) included ‘internet gaming disorder’ (IGD) for the first time. Here, IGD was viewed as a behavioural addiction that needs further study before being recognised as an independent clinical disorder. This represents a milestone achievement by attempting to (i) provide a consensual view of the phenomenon from a scientific point of view, and (ii) unify different approaches into a single one (Griffiths et al., 2014). In light of this, the main goal of this presentation is to present a recent empirical study on the assessment of IGD developed by the International Gaming Research Unit (Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom) in collaboration with the Department of Clinical Psychology and Addiction of the Institute of Psychology (Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary). More specifically, it will be presented the process of creation and psychometric validation of the Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGD-20) which is a psychometric tool designed to measure the extent of gaming addiction in online and/or offline players. Methods A sample of 1003 gamers (85.2% males; mean age 26 years) from 57 different countries were recruited via online gaming forums. Statistical analysis comprised the assessment of the test’s validity by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), criterion-related validity, and concurrent validity. Additionally, latent profile analysis was also carried out to distinguish ‘disordered gamers’ from ‘non-disordered gamers’. Lastly, sensitivity and specificity analyses were also performed to determine the empirical cut-off of the test. Results The CFA confirmed the viability of IGD-20 Test with a six-factor structure (salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict and relapse) for the assessment of IGD according to the nine criteria from DSM-5. The IGD-20 Test proved to be valid and reliable. According to the latent profile analysis, 5.3% of the total sample were classed as ‘disordered gamers’. Additionally, an optimal empirical cut-off of 71 points (out of 100) seemed to be adequate according to the sensitivity and specificity analyses carried. Conclusions The present findings support the viability of the IGD-20 Test as an adequate standardised psychometrically robust tool for assessing internet gaming disorder. Consequently, the new instrument represents the first step towards unification and consensus in the field of gaming studies.

Metadata

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
School:	Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Psychological Sciences
Depositing User:	Administrator
Date Deposited:	14 Jun 2021 14:19
Last Modified:	07 Aug 2023 16:19
URI:	https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/44730

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