Investigating the Role of Health Factors and Psychological Well-Being in Gaming Disorder

Abstract

The recent recognition of Gaming Disorder (GD) as a mental health issue has provided a unique opportunity for researchers to advance our current understanding of the intricate relationships between GD and specific health-related factors and well-being. The present study sought to investigate the role of key physical and psychological health and well-being factors in GD. To achieve this, the three goals were explored. First, we tested whether GD can be predicted by health and well-being factors such as depression, anxiety, loneliness, attention problems, physical health problems (PHP), and psychological well-being (PWB).Second, we assessed the role of distress tolerance (DT) as a moderator in the relationship between PWB and GD. Third, we examined whether PWB would mediate the relationship between PHP and GD. A sample of 474 participants (Meanage = 28.86 years; SD = 9.23; range: 18-66 years; 47% female) was recruited. The results of the multiple linear regression analysis indicated that age, attention problems, and PHP significantly predicted GD (R 2 = .15). Additionally, the mediation findings uncovered an important direct association between PHP and GD despite the lack of mediation effects through PWB and the absence of moderating effects from distress tolerance. The present findings signify important healthrelated implications related to GD that are further discussed here in terms diagnosis, treatment, and prevention efforts.

Psychometric Assessment and Gender Invariance of the Polish Version of the Gaming Disorder Test

“…It should also be noted that more recent studies also reported links between GD and psychological problems in daily life (e.g. Männikkö et al, 2020;Moore et al, 2022).…”

Psychometric properties of three online-related addictive behavior instruments among Bangladeshi school-going adolescents

“…In terms of gaming behaviors, excessive engagement with the activity can become an addiction upon the experience of functional impairments [12,13], with a recent large-scale international study of more than 123,000 gamers reporting that disordered gaming may translate to 34.53 to 40.13 hours of weekly time spent gaming [14]. It is widely known that disordered gaming may negatively impact both mental and physical health, cognitive, social, academic, and occupational functioning [7,[15][16][17]. Disordered gamers display signs of addiction including tolerance, salience, mood-swing, losing control, covering up and risking significant relationships or opportunities [18][19][20][21].…”

Symptoms of Nomophobia, Psychological Aspects, Insomnia and Physical Activity: A Cross-Sectional Study of ESports Players in Saudi Arabia

“…Second, a confounding factor (i.e., gaming disorder (GD)) was not evaluated in this study. GD is a mental health issue, which intricates relationships with specific health-related factors and well-being [ 65 ]. A recent study including 474 participants aged 18–66 years reported that age, attention problems and physical health problems significantly predicted GD [ 64 ].…”