Validation and Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of the 21-Item Game Addiction Scale With a Sample of Adolescents and Young Adults

Abstract

Background: Excessive gaming has become a psychological health issue for both gamers and their social environments. This observation holds true for western but also non-western countries such as Iran. The aim of the present study was to translate and validate a Persian version of the Game Addiction Scale 21 (GAS 21) using a sample of adolescents and adults.Methods: A total of 412 participants (mean age: 22.16 years; 55.3% females) took part in the study. They completed questionnaires covering sociodemographic information and gaming-related information, as well as the Persian version of the GAS 21, the GAS 7, the Internet Addiction Test, and the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale.Results: Of the initial 21 items of the Persian version of the GAS 21, five proved redundant and were eliminated. Factors analyses yielded four factors explaining 66.35% of the variance: 1. Withdrawal; 2. Feelings of guilt and addiction; 3. Mood modification; 4. Issues of time budget. Cronbach's alphas were satisfactory (alphas > 0.87). To validate the results, scores on the translated version were compared with the well-established Young Internet Addiction test. Factors correlated positively (rs between 0.21 and 0.31) with overall score on this latter test but, against expectations, positively with the generalized self-efficacy scale.Conclusions: A Persian version of the Game Addiction Scale-21 proved to be a useful tool for assessing the risk of game addiction behavior. Further, the solution with 16 items loading on four factors appears respond to the ecological need of parsimony.

Development and Validation of the Digital Life Balance (DLB) Scale: A Brand-New Measure for Both Harmonic and Disharmonic Use of ICTs

“…In this study, we also tested the relationship between the DLB Scale and scales assessing the dysfunctional use of ICTs. In line with the literature [ 34 , 35 ], DLB scores appeared to be negatively associated with ICT addiction levels measured with the BSMAS scale (r = −0.40), the Gaming Addiction Scale (r = −0.23), the Internet Addiction Scale (r = −0.42), and the SABAS scale (r = −0.38).…”

“…Moreover, since low levels of balance appear to be linked to dysfunctional use of ICTs [ 18 , 32 , 33 ], we expected high levels of DLB to be negatively associated with scores on scales measuring online addictions [ 34 , 35 ], whether it be an addiction to social media, smartphones, the internet in general, or gaming activity. Therefore, we formulated four hypotheses regarding the external validity:…”

Psychometric properties of the Farsi version of the gaming disorder scale for adolescents (GADIS-A)

“…To the best of the authors' knowledge, these tools have been validated among Iranian adolescents; GAS-21 [33], GAS-7 [34], IGDS-SF9 [35], and POGQ [36]. The cut-off point for GAS-21 is unclear [37], the theoretical basis of the GAS-7 and IGDS-SF9 is DSM-5 [34,35], and POGQ assesses problematic online gaming, which covers five out of nine criteria of DSM-5 [37].…”

Online Addictions Among Adolescents and Young Adults in Iran: The Role of Attachment Styles and Gender

“…As a result of this increase, it is believed that addictive internet use has increased among young people and adults (Ostovar et al, 2021). With respect to Iran, there is growing evidence that too much screen time and web gaming have become major public wellbeing concerns (Abdoli et al, 2021). Moreover, recent empirical research evidence has shown an association between addictive disorders and adult attachment styles (D’Arienzo et al, 2019; Shaver et al, 2016).…”

“…As a result of this increase, it is believed that addictive internet use has increased among young people and adults (Ostovar, Bagheri, Griffiths, & Mohd Hashima, 2021) As respects the circumstance in Iran, there's expanding evidence that too much screen time and web gaming have gotten to be major public wellbeing concerns (Abdoli et al, 2021).…”