Pathological video game use among youths: a two-year longitudinal study.
OBJECTIVE
We aimed to measure the prevalence and length of the problem of pathological video gaming or Internet use, to identify risk and protective factors, to determine whether pathological gaming is a primary or secondary problem, and to identify outcomes for individuals who become or stop being pathological gamers.


METHODS
A 2-year, longitudinal, panel study was performed with a general elementary and secondary school population in Singapore, including 3034 children in grades 3 (N = 743), 4 (N = 711), 7 (N = 916), and 8 (N = 664). Several hypothesized risk and protective factors for developing or overcoming pathological gaming were measured, including weekly amount of game play, impulsivity, social competence, depression, social phobia, anxiety, and school performance.


RESULTS
The prevalence of pathological gaming was similar to that in other countries (∼9%). Greater amounts of gaming, lower social competence, and greater impulsivity seemed to act as risk factors for becoming pathological gamers, whereas depression, anxiety, social phobias, and lower school performance seemed to act as outcomes of pathological gaming.


CONCLUSIONS
This study adds important information to the discussion about whether video game "addiction" is similar to other addictive behaviors, demonstrating that it can last for years and is not solely a symptom of comorbid disorders.
Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011-3180, USA. dgentile@iastate.edu
Douglas A
DA
Gentile
Hyekyung
H
Choo
Albert
A
Liau
Timothy
T
Sim
Dongdong
D
Li
Daniel
D
Fung
Angeline
A
Khoo
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D018910:Video Games / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000523:psychology