Psychosocial correlates of internet gaming disorder: Psychopathology, life satisfaction, and impulsivity

“Internet Gaming Disorder” (IGD) was included as a “Condition for Further Study” in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Frequent gamers have previously been shown to exhibit core symptoms of addiction, along with significant impairments in psychosocial functioning. However, there remains a lack of consensus regarding the conceptualization and assessment of video game addiction. We examined the utility of nine questions (Cronbach's α = 0.64), based directly on proposed DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for IGD, in capturing problems related to excess use of online video games. Regular video game users (n = 257) completed an online questionnaire assessing demographics, symptoms of IGD, general psychopathology, life satisfaction, self-esteem, and impulsivity. Participants meeting criteria for IGD (8.7%, n = 21) played video games significantly more often (p = 0.04) and for more hours at a time (p = 0.002), and experienced significantly greater subjective urges to use video games (p < 0.001). Furthermore, those with IGD endorsed significantly more symptoms of depression (p < 0.001), anxiety (p < 0.001), and stress (p = 0.01), lower life satisfaction (p < 0.001), and elevated motor (p = 0.02) and attentional impulsivity (p = 0.01). Proposed DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for IGD appear to capture a clinically meaningful cluster of symptoms that is associated with marked impairments in multiple aspects of psychosocial functioning.