Peer-Reviewed Study

Sex Differences in the Longitudinal Association Between High Risk of Internet Gaming Disorder and Subsequent Suicidality Among Adolescents: A Cohort Study

Apr 2026 🇰🇷 Journal of Behavioral Addictions Ages 9–14 PEER-REVIEWED

Suicide and self-harm are complex and never caused by one factor alone. Problematic screen use, cyberbullying, harmful content, and online exploitation may increase risk or intensify existing distress. If someone is in immediate danger or emotional crisis in the United States, call or text 988.

Outside the U.S.? Find your local helpline at findahelpline.com.

Published in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions, this iCURE-cohort study — co-authored by Hae Kook Lee — followed 1,874 Korean adolescents aged 9–14, none reporting suicidal thoughts at baseline, for two years to test whether gaming-disorder-associated risk was linked to later suicidality, and whether that association differed by sex. Among boys, those who screened at high risk for internet gaming disorder showed substantially higher rates of later suicidality — including suicidal ideation and suicide plans or attempts — than lower-risk boys, roughly 17 percent versus 5 percent. Among girls, the same comparison did not reach statistical significance. The authors frame high gaming-disorder-associated risk as one warning sign linked to elevated suicidality risk in boys specifically, not a standalone cause. TechKids Foundation includes this as association-level evidence that clinicians and parents should treat gaming-disorder risk in boys as a warning sign worth watching alongside other risk factors.

Boys: 17.4% vs. 5.0% later suicidality by gaming-disorder-risk group

Among boys with no baseline suicidality, those at high risk for internet gaming disorder showed a later suicidality incidence of 17.4%, versus 5.0% among lower-risk boys (adjusted RR = 3.05, 95% CI 1.53–6.07).

Association not statistically significant among girls

The same comparison between high- and low-gaming-disorder-risk groups did not reach statistical significance for girls in this cohort, per the study's abstract.

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CITATION

Jeong, Hyunsuk, Hyeon Woo Yim, Marc N. Potenza, Seung-Yup Lee, and Hae Kook Lee. "Sex Differences in the Longitudinal Association Between High Risk of Internet Gaming Disorder and Subsequent Suicidality Among Adolescents: A Cohort Study." Journal of Behavioral Addictions 15, no. 2 (2026): 756–765. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2025.00550

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