Prevalence and impact of Internet Gaming Disorder: A population-based study
Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) has emerged as a significant public health concern, yet not enough is known about its prevalence among the general population as well as its relationship to well-being, mental health, specifically depression and anxiety, and gaming genres. This study aimed to address...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Masaryk University
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberpspace |
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| Online Access: | https://cyberpsychology.eu/article/view/38092 |
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| author | Josip Razum Renata Glavak Tkalić |
| author_facet | Josip Razum Renata Glavak Tkalić |
| author_sort | Josip Razum |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) has emerged as a significant public health concern, yet not enough is known about its prevalence among the general population as well as its relationship to well-being, mental health, specifically depression and anxiety, and gaming genres. This study aimed to address these questions. The research was conducted on a representative sample of the Croatian general population including 4,994 participants, aged between 15 and 64 years (M = 40.75, SD = 15.49). The Ten-Item Internet Gaming Disorder Test, Mental Health Inventory-5, Personal Well-being Index, Gaming time and Game Genres Preferences were used. The prevalence of the IGD in the general population of Croatia, aged 15-64 years, was estimated at 0.48%, 95% CI [0.30%, 1%], and among video game players (N = 1,239) at 1.63%, 95% CI [1.11%, 3%]. The highest prevalence was observed among young males. IGD showed the strongest relationship with depression, and weaker relationships with anxiety and well-being. Among the individual criteria, negative consequences for significant relationships, deception and escape had the strongest, while tolerance, loss of control and withdrawal had the weakest relationship to depression, anxiety and well-being, in a relative sense. Sports games and casual games players had lower risk for IGD, while other genres did not differ in their risk for IGD. Online and offline games did not differ in their risk for IGD. This study has shown that IGD has a relatively low prevalence among the general population and video game players, and that not all IGD criteria are equally relevant. Future longitudinal studies and studies on clinical samples are needed.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7131aca6a5af45be8229eff0f49f2f65 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1802-7962 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Masaryk University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberpspace |
| spelling | doaj-art-7131aca6a5af45be8229eff0f49f2f652025-02-01T07:24:25ZengMasaryk UniversityCyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberpspace1802-79622025-01-0119110.5817/CP2025-1-1Prevalence and impact of Internet Gaming Disorder: A population-based studyJosip Razum0Renata Glavak Tkalić1Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences, Zagreb, Croatia Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) has emerged as a significant public health concern, yet not enough is known about its prevalence among the general population as well as its relationship to well-being, mental health, specifically depression and anxiety, and gaming genres. This study aimed to address these questions. The research was conducted on a representative sample of the Croatian general population including 4,994 participants, aged between 15 and 64 years (M = 40.75, SD = 15.49). The Ten-Item Internet Gaming Disorder Test, Mental Health Inventory-5, Personal Well-being Index, Gaming time and Game Genres Preferences were used. The prevalence of the IGD in the general population of Croatia, aged 15-64 years, was estimated at 0.48%, 95% CI [0.30%, 1%], and among video game players (N = 1,239) at 1.63%, 95% CI [1.11%, 3%]. The highest prevalence was observed among young males. IGD showed the strongest relationship with depression, and weaker relationships with anxiety and well-being. Among the individual criteria, negative consequences for significant relationships, deception and escape had the strongest, while tolerance, loss of control and withdrawal had the weakest relationship to depression, anxiety and well-being, in a relative sense. Sports games and casual games players had lower risk for IGD, while other genres did not differ in their risk for IGD. Online and offline games did not differ in their risk for IGD. This study has shown that IGD has a relatively low prevalence among the general population and video game players, and that not all IGD criteria are equally relevant. Future longitudinal studies and studies on clinical samples are needed. https://cyberpsychology.eu/article/view/38092internet gaming disordergeneral populationDSM-5 criteriamental healthgame genresCroatia |
| spellingShingle | Josip Razum Renata Glavak Tkalić Prevalence and impact of Internet Gaming Disorder: A population-based study Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberpspace internet gaming disorder general population DSM-5 criteria mental health game genres Croatia |
| title | Prevalence and impact of Internet Gaming Disorder: A population-based study |
| title_full | Prevalence and impact of Internet Gaming Disorder: A population-based study |
| title_fullStr | Prevalence and impact of Internet Gaming Disorder: A population-based study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prevalence and impact of Internet Gaming Disorder: A population-based study |
| title_short | Prevalence and impact of Internet Gaming Disorder: A population-based study |
| title_sort | prevalence and impact of internet gaming disorder a population based study |
| topic | internet gaming disorder general population DSM-5 criteria mental health game genres Croatia |
| url | https://cyberpsychology.eu/article/view/38092 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT josiprazum prevalenceandimpactofinternetgamingdisorderapopulationbasedstudy AT renataglavaktkalic prevalenceandimpactofinternetgamingdisorderapopulationbasedstudy |