One thing most psychologists do agree on is that sheer time spent gaming isn’t enough to qualify someone’s gaming as pathological. It’s all about context.
“Anything you love to do, you’re probably sacrificing some other area of life for,” Gentile said. “If you love golfing, you might skip out of work early some days or refuse to do something with your partner on a weekend. Does that harm your work? Yes. Does that harm your relationship? I guess that depends on your partner. But that doesn’t make it an addiction.”
While researchers are still working to understand what sets the “addicted” gamers apart from the “normal” ones, some traits—including being male, young, high in impulsivity and neuroticism, and low in openness and conscientiousness—put people at higher risk for the problem.
One 2023 study also found that people who said they felt less meaning in life were more likely to experience greater gaming disorder symptoms (Fraser, R., et al., Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 144, 2023). Other research shows “psychological needs frustration” and “obsession passion” is related to problem gaming (Remedios, J. C., et al., Addiction Research & Theory, 2023).
People’s motives for gaming matter, too. If you play for fun and socialization, for example, your gaming is more likely to remain healthy. But, “if you play games in order to forget about your problems, and you want to overcome your negative feelings with gaming, that predicts a problem,” Demetrovics said, pointing to his work and to Griffiths’s work (Comprehensive Psychiatry, Vol. 94, 2019).
Certain conditions, including اكتئاب, anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and social phobias also tend to co-occur with problem gaming, research shows (González-Bueso, V., et al., International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol. 15, No. 4, 2018). The links make sense: Differences in the dopamine receptors among people with ADHD, for one, may help explain their need for highly stimulating activities, like gaming. Their tendency to hyperfocus, too, might make them especially susceptible to playing for long hours.
Brain differences don’t explain everything. “You can take five people who have a gaming disorder, and they’ll all have a different etiology explaining why they’re hooked on those games,” Griffiths said. “Some of them will be because of a predisposing psychological or physical or neurodevelopmental illness. For others, there may not be any comorbidities at all.”
But for all of them, there are potential solutions.
Cognitive behavioral therapy seems to be especially promising. A 2020 study, for example, found the modality significantly improved problem gamers’ symptoms of IGD, as well as anxiety, impulsivity, and social avoidance, as compared to problem gamers assigned to a “supportive therapy” treatment (Han, J., et al., Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Vol. 27, No. 2).
A range of medications, including antidepressants and stimulants typically used to treat ADHD, can also benefit problem gamers, a 2023 meta-analysis found (Clorado de Sá, R. R., et al., Psychiatry Investigation, Vol. 20, No. 8, 2023). “Several addiction drugs seem to be helpful here, too, which is interesting because that kind of makes the point plain that this is a brain disease, and it’s not that different from [substance use disorders],” Gentile said.
Anthony’s work has also revealed how اليقظة can curb people’s problematic gaming habits. In a small, 2017 Stage 1 clinical trial, she and colleagues randomly assigned participants to a mindfulness-based intervention or a support group. After 8 weeks, the اليقظة group had significantly greater reductions in the number of DSM-5 criteria they met for IGD, as well as fewer cravings for video gaming and maladaptive cognitions associated with gaming. The benefits held at the 3-month follow-up (Li, W., et al., Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, Vol. 31, No. 4, 2017).
“Mindfulness doesn’t just help to regulate the behavior, it also helps cope with any sudden urge or craving,” Anthony said. “And, for people who use gaming as their primary way to cope with negative moods, emotions, or interpersonal conflict, اليقظة teaches alternative coping skills.”
Policy interventions may also help combat problem gaming. One 2023 study found that a year after China implemented policies to curb problematic smartphone use, the amount of time kids spent on their phones significantly dropped (Yang, Q., et al., BMC Psychiatry, Vol. 23, No. 1, 2023). The group that had met criteria for addiction also fell below, on average, that threshold a year out.
Household rules can make a difference, too. In one of Gentile’s favorite studies, he and colleagues followed about 1,300 kids in two states over the course of a school year. They found that if parents set limits on the time and content of their kids’ video games, the kids tended to get better sleep, gain less weight, get better grades, and display more prosocial behavior and less aggression, as rated by their teachers (JAMA Pediatrics, Vol. 168, No. 5, 2014).
“One simple thing—setting limits on amount and content of your children’s media—influences all of that,” Gentile said.
Even simpler: Learn about your kids’ interest in gaming before condemning it, psychologists stress. “We always encourage parents to play together with their kids, to try to understand what they do and why they do it, because otherwise, it just looks like a stupid, useless activity,” Demetrovics said. “There might be rational reasons or seemingly irrational ones, but we have to go together on this path with them.”
This article was written by from www.apa.org
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