A study posted April 18 in Psychological Science found 8.5 percent of video game-playing youths ages 8 to 18 show symptoms of video game addiction, a new type of behavioral addiction.
Researcher Douglas Gentile from Iowa State University surveyed 1,178 children and teenagers about their video gaming habits in order to obtain diagnostic criteria for “pathological” video gaming. Children who exhibit 6 out of the 11 symptoms identified by Gentile are labeled “pathological” gamers.
These symptoms include spending a large amount of money and time on video games, getting irritable or agitated when playing is restrained, disregarding chores and other commitments, using video games as an escape, poor academic performance or decrease in grades, and lying about how much time is spent playing video games.
The gamers’ symptoms aren’t the only downside to this addiction — children who show signs of pathological gaming are twice as likely to have ADHD, develop hand and wrist problems from constant playing and have lower self-esteem.
Personal relationships are also affected by this behavioral addiction. Arguments between addicted video gamers and parents, teachers and friends are directly related, while school grades and amount of time spent playing video games are inversely related, demonstrating how the more a child plays video games, the lower their school grades get.
While the research doesn’t indicate any warning signs of a gaming addiction, which is likely to follow a child into college and adulthood, or provide any treatment recommendations for the problem, many experts maintain that a healthy balance between video gaming and other commitments is the best way to avoid this new gaming epidemic.
——Contact Natalie Roy at [email protected]