Peer-Reviewed Study

Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Epidemiological Studies of Internet Gaming Disorder: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Jan 2017 🌐 Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience PEER-REVIEWED PAYWALLED — LINKED, NOT HOSTED

This 2017 systematic review in Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, co-authored by Susumu Higuchi, surveys 37 cross-sectional and 13 longitudinal studies on internet gaming disorder published through mid-2016. The authors describe wide variation in how often gaming-disorder-consistent patterns were reported across the studies reviewed, generally higher among males and, in some studies, among younger respondents. Factors the underlying studies associated with gaming disorder ranged from gaming habits and family dynamics to social functioning, personality traits, other psychiatric conditions, and physical health measures. Because the studies used inconsistent definitions and methods, the authors caution that direct comparisons across countries are difficult, and they call for future research using standardized international methods. TechKids Foundation includes this entry as a broad evidence map of the research base linking heavy gaming to a range of social, psychological, and family-context factors in young people, while flagging the field's ongoing measurement inconsistency.

Reported prevalence ranged from 0.7% to 27.5% across studies reviewed

Across the 37 cross-sectional studies analyzed, estimates of internet gaming disorder prevalence in the samples studied ranged widely, from 0.7% to 27.5%, reflecting differing definitions and survey methods rather than one agreed-upon rate.

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CITATION

Mihara, Satoko, and Susumu Higuchi. "Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Epidemiological Studies of Internet Gaming Disorder: A Systematic Review of the Literature." Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience 71, no. 7 (2017): 425–444. https://doi.org/10.1111/pcn.12532

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