P6 "Mitgehangen – mitgefangen? Verlauf und Stabilität von (problematischem) Computerspielverhalten über einen Zeitraum von drei Jahren"
Eva-Maria Zenses
supervisors: Prof. Dr. Werner Greve, Universität Hildesheim; Prof. Dr. Gerhard Bühringer, Technische Universität Dresden; PD. Dr. Thomas Mößle, Kriminologisches Forschungsinstitut Niedersachsen
submitted: 18.05.2015
Abstract
Since 2013 Internet Gaming Disorder is accepted as a diagnosis in the appendix of the DSM-5. The American Psychiatric Association invited scientists worldwide to research this phenomenon in more depth.
The present longitudinal study followed this call. First this dissertation reviews the present state of research (May 2014) in the field of video game addiction. Furthermore a semi-structured interview for diagnosis of game addiction and abuse was developed. This interview is an adaptation of the semi-structured interview (SCID) for alcohol addiction and abuse. After that, 70 young men (18 to 21 years old) were selected from a sample of 1092 video game players. These 70 men were interviewed (video-taped) for several hours about topics like video game addiction, axis I and II disorders and their living circumstances. The interview was repeated twice [measurement point (mp) 2: 03/2012- 01/2013: n = 64, mp3: 03-12/2013: n = 61]. The interrater reliability and validity of the semi- structured interview (video game addiction and abuse) were confirmed. In this sample were identi- fied unproblematic, problematic and addicted video game players (video game addicted: mp1: n = 10, 14.28 %, mp2: n = 8, 12.5 %, mp3: n = 8, 13.11 %). Over a period of three years we identified problematic players, who were divided into “stayers”, “stoppers”, “developers” and “starters”. There was no difference between problematic and non-problematic video game players regarding the prevalence of intimate relationships. Problematic video game players showed higher levels of anxiety attached to their mothers, higher levels of neuroticism, lower levels of conscientiousness and higher levels of impulsiveness. They suffered more frequently from psychiatric disorders (axis I), especially affective disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. These results differed between the measurement points.
The strengths of this study are the exact diagnostic process, the low drop-out rate and the longitudi- nal design. Limitations are the low sample size and the exclusion of women. Future studies should focus on the identification and prevalence of various patterns of video game addiction. This study showed that video game addiction can be a persistent phenomenon. However, only a few of the excessive video game players suffered from a video game addiction.