Differential Effects of Anxiety on Internet Gaming Disorder: A Large-Scale Cross-Sectional Survey.

backgroundInternet gaming disorder (IGD) has become a serious public health problem in East Asia, and studies have reported IGD to be significantly associated with anxiety, but no causal relationship between the two has yet been demonstrated. Children are at high risk of developing IGD, however, previous studies have principally focused on the condition in adults and adolescents and reported non-clinical samples. A large-scale survey is needed to research and evaluate IGD and anxiety in children and adolescents to understand the current situation of IGD in children and explore the impact of IGD on anxiety.

methodsA cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire was conducted between March 1 and July 31, 2021. A total of 10,479 school children and adolescents in the western provinces of China were selected by convenience sampling. A questionnaire was used to collect data anonymously. The questionnaire covered IGD and the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS). Welch's ANOVA Test and Games-Howell test were used to test for differences in anxiety levels between IGD groups. Poisson regression analysis was used to further investigate the key predictors of IGD.

results3.2% of participants (

conclusionAnxiety was a predictor of IGD, with statistically significant group differences in total anxiety, as well as the dimensions of physiological anxiety, social correlation, and sensitivity. The timely assessment of anxiety in children and adolescents, training social skills, and facilitating effective integration into society could be effective ways of reducing the incidence and impact of IGD.