ArticleJournal of behavioral addictions2020
Social anxiety and Internet gaming disorder: The role of motives and metacognitions.
Article in Journal of behavioral addictions, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 118 citations in OpenAlex.
- Internet gaming disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and learning in adults: a systematic review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Gaming motivations and gaming disorder symptoms: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2022Pooled it
- A systematic review of metacognitions in Internet Gaming Disorder and problematic Internet, smartphone and social networking sites use.Clinical psychology & psychotherapy · 2021Pooled it
- A Vicious Cycle of Psychological Distress and Problematic Mobile Phone Use in Adolescence: A Longitudinal Test of a Dual Metacognitive Pathway.Journal of adolescence · 2026Article
- The relationship between social media addiction and metacognitions in patients with social anxiety disorder.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
- Internet Gaming Disorder and Internet Addiction: Comparing Italian and Migrant Children and Adolescents.Pediatric reports · 2026Article
- Internet addiction and internet gaming disorder levels as predictors of alexithymia traits among university students.Discover mental health · 2026Article
- Bidirectionality Between Perceived Immediate and Long-Term Benefits and Losses and Internet Gaming Disorder Among Chinese Adolescent Gamers: Prospective Longitudinal Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Gaming-based program for internet gaming disorder: feasibility and preliminary outcomes of a structured camp program.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Internalizing and externalizing pathways to internet gaming disorder: the roles of anger and social anxiety.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- The association of relative deprivation, interpersonal relationships, and problematic social media use in 39 countries/regions: Does school contextual inequality matter?Journal of behavioral addictions · 2025Article
- Problematic Internet Use and Psychological Distress in High School Students.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Social Anxiety, Risk Perception, and Problematic Use of Mobile Phones and Video Games: A Gender Perspective.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Observational
- Psychological risk factors for problematic social network use: An overview of systematic reviews andAddictive behaviors reports · 2025Review
- Gender differences in problematic gaming among Chinese adolescents and young adults.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Association Between Internet Gaming Disorder and Suicidal Ideation Mediated by Psychosocial Resources and Psychosocial Problems Among Adolescent Internet Gamers in China: Cross-Sectional Study.JMIR serious games · 2024Article
- Cognitive, Metacognitive, Motivational, and Emotional Predictors of the Intensity of Internet Gaming Disorder among Adolescents.The Psychiatric quarterly · 2024Article
- Online Games and Cognitive Distortions: A Comparative Analysis in Students with and without Disabilities.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2024Article
- Psychometric Properties of the Metacognitions About Online Gaming Scale in the Chinese Population and Its Relationship With Internet Gaming Disorder: Cross-Sectional Study.JMIR serious games · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsIn recent years, Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) has been recognized as a mental health problem. Although research has found that social anxiety, motives, the preference for online social interactions (POSI), and metacognitions about online gaming are independent predictors of IGD, less is known about their relative contribution to IGD. The aim of the current study was to model the relationship between social anxiety, motives, POSI, metacognitions about online gaming, and IGD.
methodsFive hundred and forty three Italian gamers who play more than 7 h a week (mean age = 23.9 years; SD = 6.15 years; 82.5% males) were included in the study. The pattern of relationships specified by the theoretical model was examined through path analysis.
resultsResults showed that social anxiety was directly associated with four motives (escape, coping, fantasy, and recreation), POSI, and positive and negative metacognitions about online gaming, and IGD. The Sobel test showed that negative metacognitions about online gaming played the strongest mediating role in the relationship between social anxiety and IGD followed by escape, POSI, and positive metacognitions. The model accounted for 54% of the variance for IGD. DISCUSSION AND
conclusionsOverall, our findings show that, along with motives and POSI, metacognitions about online gaming may play an important role in the association between social anxiety and IGD. The clinical and preventive implications of these findings are discussed.
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