ArticleCommunications psychology2025
Problematic online gaming mediates the association between attention-deficit/hyperactivity and subsequent mental health issues in adolescents.
Article in Communications psychology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Loneliness and desire for thinness explain sex differences in adolescent internalizing problems.Nature human behaviour · 2026Article
- Loneliness patterns across time and subsequent risk of psychotic experiences, depression, anxiety, and diminished well-being in adolescents.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2026Article
- Understanding sleep and smartphone use in diverse adolescents through passive digital monitoring.Journal of research on adolescence : the official journal of the Society for Research on Adolescence · 2026Article
- Moderated Mediation in Problematic Digital Gaming Among Adolescents: Self-Esteem, Social Anxiety, Self-Concealment, and Sensation Seeking.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Theoretical models suggest that attention-deficit/hyperactivity and problematic online gaming could contribute to negative mental health outcomes, yet evidence on their interplay remains limited. Using data from 3171 adolescents in the Tokyo Teen Cohort, the present study examined the interplay of attention-deficit/hyperactivity at age 12 and problematic online gaming at age 14 associated with mental health issues at age 16. The sample consisted of 1487 girls (46.9%) and 1684 boys (53.1%). Doubly robust estimation revealed that a high degree of problematic online gaming consistently elevated the absolute and relative risks of mental health issues. The fully adjusted risk difference and risk ratio (95% confidence intervals (CIs)) were: incident depression, 7.8% (3.0%-13.1%) and 1.62 (1.25-2.05); incident anxiety, 5.7% (2.7%-8.7%) and 1.98 (1.45-2.67); incident psychotic experiences, 5.9% (2.3%-10.8%) and 1.72 (1.30-2.47); diminished well-being, 9.6% (5.1%-14.3%) and 1.54 (1.27-1.84). Higher attention-deficit/hyperactivity scores were associated with a greater degree of problematic online gaming (adjusted β per 1 SD: 0.18, 95% CI: 0.12-0.24). Causal mediation analysis-ensuring temporal plausibility, carefully adjusting for confounders, and accounting for exposure-mediator interaction-showed that problematic online gaming partially mediated the association between attention-deficit/hyperactivity and mental health issues: depressive symptoms (29.2%), anxiety (12.3%), psychotic experiences (20.6%), and diminished well-being (22.1%). The findings highlight the interplay of psychopathology, diminished inhibitory control, and addictive behaviors associated with negative consequences. Problematic online gaming may represent a modifiable mediator, warranting further intervention research to examine its potential as a treatment target.
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Registered trials
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