Gaming, substance use and distress within a cohort of online gamblers

Abstract

Background: The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) included Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) as a tentative diagnosis and inquires for additional research. The research on gaming is inconsistent regarding measurement approach and diagnostic cut-offs. Some scholars suggest the core approach, accentuating some of the diagnostic criteria to avoid pathologizing harmless behavior. Also, the co-occurrence of gaming and other addictions, gambling in specifically, is frequently reported but poorly understood. The present study aimed to explore gaming within a population of online gamblers in order to evaluate the core approach but also to investigate the possible co-occurrence of different addictions.Design and Methods: The present study is derived from material collected for a study on online gambling. The study addressed 1007 adult individuals from the general population who had gambled for money on an online casino site or an online betting site, on at least 10 occasions during the past 12 months.Results: Both the level of distress and problem gambling increased as the severity of gaming increased. The co-occurrence of problems with alcohol, illicit drug use/prescription sedatives/strong painkillers and gambling was roughly 50% among the addictive gamers.Conclusion: The present study suggests that the core approach manages to distinguish in severity of gaming in regards to interference and comorbidity. We also brought light to the occurrence of gaming within a population of gamblers and our results indicate that this specific group of addicted gamers are particularly burdened by co-occurrent addictive behaviors and severe distress.

Pilot data findings from the Gothenburg treatment for gaming disorder: a cognitive behavioral treatment manual

“…We found that a small proportion of our patients had a problematic intake of alcohol or other drugs, to a comparable extent with the Wölfling et al (26) study. Other studies have for example shown a positive correlation between severity of GD and frequency of substance use (63)(64)(65). Studies have also shown that those who play under the influence of for example stimulants, Ecstasy/MDMA, sedatives or amphetamines spend more time gaming than non-substance users (62) and that high alcohol consumption is an antecedent to gaming disorder (66).…”

Relapse prevention therapy for internet gaming disorder in Swedish child and adolescent psychiatric clinics: a randomized controlled trial

“…Therefore, the 'core approach' applies a prioritization of the four core criterion, creating three categories of gamers: engaged gamers, problem gamers, and addicted gamers. This approach has been reported as clinically relevant as the created categories seem to relate to degrees of negative consequences as well as severity of addictive behavior (25,26).…”

Faktor Karakteristik sebagai Prediktor Adiksi Game Online pada Remaja

“…Selama COVID-19, tercatat adiksi internet pada masyarakat di Indonesia sebesar 14,4%, dimana penggunaan internet meningkat sebesar 52% dibandingkan dengan sebelum pandemi (Siste et al, 2020). Studi ini menunjukkan ukuran prevalensi gamer yang adiksi sebesar 1,2 persen (André et al, 2021). Di Korea Selatan persentase yang signifikan dari remaja ini melaporkan bahwa waktu mereka dihabiskan untuk game PC (45,5%) dan game seluler (56,6%) meningkat setelah wabah COVID-19 (Kim et al, 2021).…”

“…Hasil studi ini didapatkan bahwa sebagian besar laki-laki mengalami adiksi game online. Studi yang sama telah dilakukan baru-baru ini dimana jenis kelamin laki-laki dikaitkan dengan game yang bermasalah dan adiktif (André et al, 2021). Laki-laki diangap sebagai faktor resiko pada adiksi game online (Hyun et al, 2015;Karaca et al, 2020).…”