title: Pathological Internet use among adolescents: Comparing gamers and non-gamers.
abstract: "Internet gaming disorder" was recently included in Section 3 of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Non-gaming Internet activities were not considered because of a lack of evidence. This study examined whether gamers differ from non-gamers with respect to their psychological well-being among students who show pathological Internet use (PIU). This cross-sectional study was conducted within the project "Working in Europe to Stop Truancy Among Youth (WE-STAY)". A total of 8807 European representative students from randomly selected schools were included. The Young Diagnostic Questionnaire was applied to assess PIU, and students with this condition were divided into gamers (PIU-G) and non-gamers (PIU-NG). Overall, 3.62% and 3.11% of the students were classified as having PIU-G and PIU-NG, respectively. A multinomial logistic regression revealed that students with PIU-G and those with PIU-NG showed similarly increased risks for emotional symptoms, conduct disorder, hyperactivity/inattention, self-injurious behaviors, and suicidal ideation and behaviors. Students with PIU-G were more likely to be male and have a higher risk for peer problems than those with PIU-NG. Students with PIU-NG had a higher risk of depression than those with PIU-G. The significant psychological impairment of PIU-NG suggests that it should be considered in future diagnostic criteria.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany; University Medical Center Münster, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Strittmatter
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. Electronic address: michael.kaess@med.uni-heidelberg.de.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaess
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Parzer
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.affiliation: National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention of Mental Ill-Health (NASP), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Carli
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Christina W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Hoven
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA; Department of Health Sciences, University of Molise, Campobasso, Italy.
authors.forename: Camilla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wasserman
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University of Molise, Campobasso, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sarchiapone
authors.affiliation: National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention of Mental Ill-Health (NASP), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Durkee
authors.affiliation: Feinberg Child Study Centre, Schneider Children׳s Medical Centre, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Apter
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, CIBERSAM, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.
authors.forename: Julio
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bobes
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Romuald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brunner
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology Department, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Doina
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cosman
authors.affiliation: Estonian-Swedish Mental Health and Suicidology Institute (ERSI), Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia.
authors.forename: Merike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sisask
authors.affiliation: Estonian-Swedish Mental Health and Suicidology Institute (ERSI), Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia.
authors.forename: Peeter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Värnik
authors.affiliation: National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention of Mental Ill-Health (NASP), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Danuta
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wasserman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D018910:Video Games / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Adolescents; Internet addiction; Internet gaming disorder; Psychological impairment; WE-STAY