Early-Life Interpersonal and Affective Risk Factors for Pathological Gaming

Abstract

Internet gaming is among the most popular entertainment options, worldwide; however, a considerable proportion of gamers show symptoms of pathological gaming. Internet gaming disorder (IGD) has been proposed to describe a behavioral addiction, which shares many similarities, both physical and psychological, with substance use disorder. Environmental factors, such as interpersonal and relationship dynamics during childhood and adolescence, have been suggested to modulate the onset and trajectories of IGD. However, studies exploring the contributions of dysfunctional family environments to the development of IGD remain limited. This minireview aims to offer an overview of the current knowledge regarding the impacts of early-life interpersonal and relationship dynamics on the development of IGD and to provide a snapshot of the current state of the literature in this field. Specifically, it underlines the modulatory role of early-life relational factors such as a) family function, b) parent-child relationships, c) childhood maltreatment, and d) bullying and cyberbullying on the development of IGD. Consistent with this evidence, therapeutic interventions that aim to "restructure" the emotional ties and familiar dynamics that are known to be associated with dysfunctional behaviors and feelings, and likely promote pathological gaming, are recognized as the most successful clinical therapeutic approaches for IGD.

Bullying Victimization and Problem Video Gaming: The Mediating Role of Externalizing and Internalizing Problems

“…What is unique about the present study is that this relationship also extends to gaming disorder. This not only replicates previous studies reporting positive relationships between bullying victimization and PVG [ 52 , 53 , 54 ], yet provides evidence for the role of mental health symptoms in this relationship, accounting for 16.1% of the variance in PVG severity. The extent of the variance explained in this model points to the fact that various factors other than bullying victimization, externalizing and internalizing problems may explain youth PVG, including self-esteem, impulsivity, attention difficulties, social competencies and parental relationship quality [ 16 ].…”

“…Additionally, some studies have found that frequent video game playing has been associated with increases in cyberbullying perpetration (or of being both a victim and perpetrator of bullying [i.e., bully-victims]), within and outside online gaming environments [ 43 , 44 , 45 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 ]. Specific to PVG, direct positive relationships have been identified between bullying victimization and PVG [ 52 , 53 , 54 ]. However, little research has investigated the potential mediators explaining the relationship between these variables.…”

Problematic Use of the Internet in Subjects With Bipolar Disorder: Relationship With Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms

“…On the other hand, subjects reporting PUI may be more vulnerable to stressful events or more prone to develop PTSD. Given that a causal link cannot be obtained by our results, previous studies, in accordance with the former hypothesis, showed an association between childhood trauma experience and PUI, highlighting the possible role of PUI as a maladaptive coping method to traumatic events and distressful memories ( 40 , 43 ).…”

“…This is a particularly promising research pathway, as suggested by the results of the few studies that have been focusing on PUI in PTSD ( 44 ). Literature, in fact, showed a relationship between a history of stressful events or sexual abuse and PUI among adolescents and young adults ( 40 – 43 ) and an increased risk of PTSD development among adolescents with PUI ( 25 ). While research on this issue is to date at its preliminary stage, the association between PTSD and other addiction disorders such as substance or alcohol use disorder and gambling disorder, are widely acknowledged ( 32 , 51 , 52 ).…”

Gaming Disorder: How to Translate Behavioral Neuroscience Into Public Health Advances

“…Studies report the symptom severity of GD to be associated with increased perceived stress [78][79][80][81][82][83] and emotional trauma or maltreatment during childhood [84,85]. Furthermore, Canale et al [79] could show that stress was positively correlated with hours of game play per week.…”