Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29463097›Full record

ArticleJournal of behavioral addictions2018

Prevalence and associated factors of Internet gaming disorder among community dwelling adults in Macao, China.

Anise M S Wu, Juliet Honglei Chen, Kwok-Kit Tong, Shu Yu, Joseph T F Lau

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of behavioral addictions, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 58 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
58citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
63.6field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

58 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 165 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  8. Effectiveness of Therapeutic Interventions in the Treatment of Internet Gaming Disorder: A Systematic Review.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2025
    Review
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  17. Recovery Experiences Protect Emotionally Exhausted White-Collar Workers from Gaming Addiction.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Anise M S Wu1 Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, University of Macau , Macau, China.
Juliet Honglei Chen1 Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, University of Macau , Macau, China.
Kwok-Kit Tong1 Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, University of Macau , Macau, China.
Shu Yu1 Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, University of Macau , Macau, China.
Joseph T F Lau2 The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong , Hong Kong, China.
University of Macau · MOChinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background and aims Internet gaming disorder (IGD) has been mainly studied among adolescents, and no research to date has examined its prevalence in general Chinese adult populations. This study estimated the prevalence of probable IGD in community-dwelling adults in Macao, China. Associations between IGD and psychological distress (i.e., depression and anxiety) as well as IGD and character strength (i.e., psychological resilience and purpose in life) were also tested. Methods A random, representative sample of 1,000 Chinese residents (44% males; mean age = 40.0) was surveyed using a telephone poll design from October to November 2016. Results The estimated prevalence of probable IGD was 2.0% of the overall sample and 4.3% among the recent gamers (n = 473), with no statistically significant sex and age effects observed (p > .05). The two most prevalent IGD symptoms were mood modification and continued engagement, despite negative consequences. Probable IGD respondents were more vulnerable to psychological distress (25.0% and 45.0% for moderate or above levels of depression and anxiety, respectively) than their non-IGD counterparts. They also reported a lower level of psychological resilience than non-IGD respondents. No significant buffering effect of the two character strength variables on the distress-IGD relationship was found. Discussion and conclusions These results provide empirical evidence that IGD is a mental health threat not only to adolescents but also to adults. IGD was significantly associated with psychological distress, which should be addressed in conjunction with IGD symptoms in interventions. Inclusion of gamers of both sexes and different age groups in future prevention programs is also recommended.

Indexed as

InternetVideo GamesAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overBehavior, AddictiveDepressionFemaleHumansMacauMaleMiddle AgedPrevalenceResilience, PsychologicalRisk FactorsChinesedistressInternet gaming disorderprevalencepurpose in liferesilience

Identifiers

PMID29463097
PMCPMC6035015
OpenAlexW2788049995

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.