The American Medical Association’s is thinking about recommending the inclusion of “Internet/video game addiction” in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (a.k.a. DSM), the standard-setting catalog of mental illness.According to an article in the Wall street journal online. Luckily the final decision will be up to the American Psychiatric Association, which oversees the DSM. To my opinion a lot of research has to be done to proof it even exists. Is there proof of withdrawal symptoms? You might have guest this author plays a lot of games, on and offline. Maybe we shlould make a poll which games are played by which medical specialism?
Gaming is a wide spread and popular activity in The Netherlands. Myself I enjoy quite some time in game playing. Mostly on my computer. In The Netherlands addiction health care is addressed by a separate institute in mental health. Although Dr Shock holds a liberal view on gaming and Internet reports sometimes publish evidence of negative effects of game playing including the risk of video game addiction or Internet addiction. Won’t go in any further on my objections to these constructs, they published elsewhere on this blog. Video game addiction might be included in the new DSM V, but then this bible of psychiatry possibly makes some more mistakes with including modern timely diagnoses.
This present study assessed not only problematic game play in adolescents but in a representative sample of the Dutch population, from 14-81 years old. Since problematic gaming behavior is a very subjective measure the researchers defined it as:
PGB was used with the following three items: ‘I think I spend too much time on gaming’, ‘I think my game behavior is problematic’, and ‘I think I’m
going to seek help’ (scale ranged from (1) ‘‘certainly not’’ to (5) ‘‘certainly’’.
Almost 50% reported playing video games, mean age was 38 years, almost two third were women.Gaming was most prevalent among adolescents and youn adults such as your own Dr Shock. The gaming prevalence significantly decreased with age for both men and women.Overall, no significant differences were found in mean playing time per week regarding gender and age. Browser games and offline games were the most popular types of games, online games are played by a relatively small part of the respondents, yet considerably more time is spent on these online games than on browser games, offline casual games, and offline games. Problematic video gaming was most prevalent among young male online game players.
The prevalence of problematic gaming in the total sample is 1.3 percent. Among adolescents and young adults problematic gaming occurs in 3.3 percent of cases.
Haagsma MC, Pieterse ME, & Peters O (2012). The prevalence of problematic video gamers in the Netherlands. Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking, 15 (3), 162-8 PMID: 22313358
About video game addiction. From previous posts you will probably already know that Dr Shock is somewhat skeptical about video game addiction. He’s also somewhat biased because he enjoys video gaming. The definition used in a recent article published on the prevalence of problematic video gamers in the Netherlands does come close to my opinion.
Although there are people who experience considerable problems related to their gaming behavior, there is no agreement on whether problematic gaming can been seen as pathological. Therefore, criteria used to measure pathological gaming should be considered as criteria to measure problems associated with game behavior instead of symptoms of pathological behavior. Others also suggested that media addiction is overstated, and that in many cases the symptoms that these addicted individuals display should be considered as problems that are within the capability of the individual to correct
The subject interested me especially since it was a Dutch population studied about this subject. In this study subscribers to a national panel which represents the Dutch population were invited via email to participate in an online survey. In total, 3,200 subscribers were invited to participate in the study before the number of 900 respondents was reached (nonresponse was 72 percent). They measured problematic game behavior with a subjective measure.
Results
Almost half of the participants used video games, age range: 14-75 years, mean age 38,7 years. Two third were women. Gaming was the most prevalent among adolescents and young adults, prevalence decreased with age for both men and women. In short: gaming is a a wide-spread harmless leisure activity across the whole Dutch population. About 1,3% might be considered as problematic game players. Among young adults and adolescents problematic gaming might occur in 3.3% of cases. A remarkable finding is the overall higher prevalence of video game playing in women compared to men in this sample.
Haagsma, M., Pieterse, M., & Peters, O. (2012). The Prevalence of Problematic Video Gamers in The Netherlands Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 15 (3), 162-168 DOI: 10.1089/cyber.2011.0248
In previous posts I already expressed my doubt about this phenomenon: Internet Addiction. The biggest problem with studies defining a new syndrome is usually that they don’t use validated diagnostic tools but mostly some severity scale. Internet Addiction is not clearly defined in the recent scientific publications and research. Some researchers have adapted substance use disorder, while others reference pathological gambling, resulting in an inconsistent definition of Internet addiction.
Being as it is, therapeutic research was done with such a creaky concept as Internet Addiction is. A recent systematic review according to the CONSORT statement has recently been published.
In this review of 8 treatment studies several key limitations were found.
inconsistencies in the definition and diagnosis of Internet addiction,
a lack of randomization and blinding techniques,
a lack of adequate controls or other comparison groups,
insufficient information concerning recruitment dates, sample characteristics, and treatment effect sizes.
Only one of the eight study was a Randomized Controlled Trial RCT, others were pre-test/post-test design. No clear definitions were used, one study referred to internet addiction as an impulse control disorder, others as substance abuse disorders. Only five studies used a diagnostic instrument. Most studies used “psychological interventions”: cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing (MI), reality training, or a combination of psychological and/or counseling therapies within a self-devised treatment program. Two studies by the same group used pharmacologic interventions: a psychostimulant and an antidepressant, only one study used a control group and the treatment regimes varied between studies.
Each study utilized its diagnostic tool for Internet addiction as an outcome measure, with some studies also including measures of anxiety, depression, self-esteem, and behavioral functioning.
The results of the studies were favorable in seven, but the authors did not report the estimated effect sizes nor their precision, most outcomes were qualified as: “having a powerful outcome”, “improving the maladaptive behavior”, “clearly suggest that the program is effective”, “very effective to improve Internet addiction level”, “improved clinical symptoms and visual attention, associated with reduced severity of Internet video game play” and “effective at ameliorating the common symptoms”
A lot of work still has to be done, what do you think?
King, D., Delfabbro, P., Griffiths, M., & Gradisar, M. (2011). Assessing clinical trials of Internet addiction treatment: A systematic review and CONSORT evaluation Clinical Psychology Review, 31 (7), 1110-1116 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2011.06.009
Another explanation for Internet addiction could be a creative manner of censorship by the Chinese government. Internet is a relatively new phenomena in China, a side effect of its booming economy and technological advances, but how to control this development and how to fit it in with its communist government?
In a recent published article excessive game playing is proposed to be a social problem. Moreover, the authors of a recent article interpret their results to be proof of negative cognitive effects of excessive computer game playing . If you ever play casino games, play it responsibly. While the outcome of this study done in China is proof of the opposite and doesn’t confirm their conclusion to my opinion.
Participants who had previously been excessive computer game players (ECGP) but were not active in gaming (pECGP group) performed significantly better than the control participants, showing the persistent positive effects of gaming. Them still participating in excessive computer game play did worse on a cognitive test compared to those previously known to be ECGP. However, these still ECGP did not significantly differ on the cognitive test compared to controls never been playing computer games excessively.
Sixty male graduate or undergraduate students participated, they were recruited from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC).
To my opinion this finding supports the positive effects of computer game play for some cognitive functions. You may also know Gamstop is a UK-based organization that allows you to request exclusion from online casino services for six months, one year or five years. Gamstop uses software to record your personal information. But all casinos not on gamstop, it authorizes casinos to blacklist your data so that you can no longer log into your existing gaming accounts or create new ones.
The test used was the multiple object tracking (MOT). This task has been used to show the positive effects of game playing. This task requires participants to track positions of a number of target items for a few seconds during which the participant is vulnerable to disturbances. This test can measure such skills with computer games that require players to distribute and switch attention quickly around the field, can alter a range of visual skills. Therefore, people who play casino games may benefit from their games training for some time even without further experience.
So I don’t agree with the conclusion made by the authors:
the current ECGP participants performed significantly worse than the previous ECGP participants. This more important finding indicates that ECGP may be related to cognitive deficits.
De-Lin Sun, Ning Ma, Min Bao, Xang-Chuan Chen, Da-Ren Zhang (2008). Computer Games: A Double-Edged Sword? CyberPsychology & Behavior, 11 (5), 545-548 DOI: 10.1089/cpb.2007.0145
Online game players score higher in openness, conscientiousness and extraversion compared to non players. They are eager to learn and master new challenges, they are motivated by competition and they enjoy social activities which can all be provided by online game playing.
The online game playing provides them with initial experiences of success and then provide them with more complex challenges creating a flow of immersed experience further satisfying their needs. Not only self-satisfied, these online slots also guarantee real money by winning in the games. This creates a positive spiral enhancing their online game experience.
Chin-I Teng the author of this articles says:”I also believe that skill of players matters in player intention to continuously play online games.” Not only personality but also skills such as visuospatial memory,speed of reaction, problem solving skills play an important role.
Participants played various online games, including international popular games such as Warcraft3, Lineage2,Crazyracing, Rich Online, and Nostale.
Eight hundred three Taiwanese students were approached in high schools and universities, and 591 questionnaires were collected, producing an effective return ratio of 74%. The matched sample comprised 130 pairs of students, which was used for analysis. The two students in each pair were matched by gender and age because players and nonplayers were found significantly different in gender and age. A matched sample was used to minimize the confounding effects of gender and age. Seventy-one percent of participants were male, and all were between 12 and 22 years of age (Mean 16.06). Of the participants, 89% had a monthly income below U.S. $180,while 98% had access to a computer at home, reflecting the Taiwanese student population.
I wasn’t sure about the design so I emailed the author and he confirmed that from the 591 students 130 pairs were formed matched for age and sexe consisting of an online gamer and someone not playing online games. The author:”Yes, each pair consist of a online game player and a non online game player.”
The researchers used a scale to measure openness, conscientiousness and extracersion, the so called Mini-Marker scale of Saucier
This scale determines varying levels of introversion and extraversion. Along with introversion and extraversion the inventory also measures openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and neuroticism. The mini-marker asks participants to rate themselves according to 40 different measures (e.g. creative, extraverted, philosophical, and sloppy) using a Likert scale from 1 to 9, with 1 being extremely inaccurate and 9being extremely accurate. Although the mini-marker is a shortened version (about half the personality measures) of the NEO-5 factor, Saucier (1994) determined that it was representative of the full 100 trait NEO-5 factor inventory. The mini-marker was developed on behalf of many people who appreciated the fact that it was shorter and more efficient; however, Saucier (1994) stresses that because of the smaller version it may create lower reliabilities.
Online game players and non players didn’t differ in agreeableness and neuroticism.
According to the authors this research shed some light on online game playing and personality, their suggestion for further research is to investigate personality to different online games.
The limitation of this study is the selection of personality traits, the change of finding what you are looking for is relatively large with this design. The selection of participants is relatively selective, students just aren’t the average kid in the Internet cafe around the corner. These results can not be generalized to larger populations.So this research has some limitations nevertheless I like the outcome it counter balances all the negative publicity around internet addiction and game addiction.To my opinion these are just other disguises of the same problem and not a reason to hamper new developments such as Internet and gaming since this would lead to throw the baby out with the bath water.
Teng, C. (2008). Personality Differences between Online Game Players and Nonplayers in a Student Sample. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 11(2), 232-234. DOI: 10.1089/cpb.2007.0064
Besides it being old news e.g. compared to these articles back in 2005 on: usa today and BBC NEWS, although the best is from Washingtonpost.com february 2007. They all report about the same clinic:The Internet Addiction Treatment Center in Daxing County. Moreover, in Western studies no consensus exists as to whether Internet addiction really exists.
The so-called Internet addiction is in many cases not an ailment, but just a symptom of some deeper problem, some of them may even need a long term drug rehab because of their other addictions. Descriptions of the deeper problems can be read on techdirt.com and on The Herald Tribune. It mostly comes down to:
“The main cause of Internet addiction is that parents’ expectations for their children are too high,” said Xu.
With education perceived by many parents as the only means of advancement in an ultracompetitive society of 1.3 billion people, some lock their children up to study and ask teachers to assign extra homework. The pressure can be too much for some children, Xu said, especially if they fail.
“Then they escape to the virtual world to seek achievements, importance and satisfaction, or a sense of belonging.”
Another explanation for Internet addiction could be a creative manner of censorship by the Chinese government. Internet is a relatively new phenomena in China, a side effect of its booming economy and technological advances, but how to control this development and how to fit it in with its communist government?
Delegates at the National People’s Congress, China’s annual session of Parliament, have proposed stricter criminal punishments for Internet café operators who admit minors, and have flagged restrictions on violent games.
The Internet Addiction Treatment Center in Daxing County uses a blend of therapy and military drills to treat the children with “Internet addiction”. It is a government-funded center, run by an army colonel under the Beijing Military Hospital. It is one of a handful of clinics treating patients with Internet addictions in China.
Patients, overwhelmingly male and aged 14 to 19, wake up in dormitories at 6:15 a.m. to do morning calisthenics and march on the cracked concrete grounds wearing khaki fatigues. Drill sergeants bark orders at them when they are not attending group and individual counseling sessions. Therapy includes patients simulating war games with laser guns.
The center’s tough-love approach to breaking Internet addiction is unique to China, but necessary in a country with over two million teenage Internet addicts, according to the facility’s staff.
Results from a recent meta-analysis did not support the conclusion that violent video game playing leads to aggressive behavior. However it was associated with higher visuospatial cognition such as visual rotation, visual memory, visual attention and selection or related abilities.
These findings are valuable since it is not hard to link video game playing to aggression because the prevalence of video game playing in adolescents is 98.7%. In contrast excess violent behavior such as a school shooting has a very low base rate. Can an almost universal behavior truly predict a rare behavior? According to this excellent meta-analysis: No.
Shortcomings of previous trials and reviews: 1. In one study the confidence interval crosses zero, so instead of proof of a relationship this publication questions such a relationship. 2. Violent activity may simply be a byproduct of family violence. 3. Use of unstandardized measures of aggression 4. The assumption that these games have only negative consequences could be wrong, positive aspects are neglected. 5. Publication bias
When correcting for this publication bias the result of the meta-analysis does not support a relationship between violent video game playing and aggressive behavior.
A total of 17 published studies comprising of 21 independent observations were found that met the above criteria including a total sample size of 3,602.
When correcting for the publication bias, violent video game playing does improve visuospatial cognition.
A total of seven published studies comprising of 14 independent observations were found that met the above criteria including a total sample size of 384.
The author suggests to look into the effect of violent video games on individuals already at risk for violent behavior. He also suggests to look at adopting these games for more positive goals e.g. educational purposes.
This abstract came up in my RSS feed, I was flabbergasted. Could that be true. Is it internet addiction or video game addiction all over again? Reading the full article showed the authors have very little to back up their suggested causal relation between twitter and psychosis. Other factors could more likely contribute to the episode. Moreover, another egg chicken problem.
Kalbitzer, J., Mell, T., Bermpohl, F., Rapp, M., & Heinz, A. (2014). Twitter Psychosis The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 202 (8) DOI: 10.1097/NMD.0000000000000173
Cyberspace takes it tole. After Internet addiction, Video Game addiction there is now a new anxiety disorder discovered: disconnection anxiety.
The American consumer is more connected and has more instant access to people and information than at any time in history. Losing that access creates disconnect anxiety.
What is disconnection anxiety?
Disconnect Anxiety refers to various feelings of disorientation and nervousness experienced when a person is deprived of Internet or wireless access for a period of time. Buds 365 online have CBD based products for sale to prevent any kind of anxiety, all of them addiction free.
Overall, our research finds that 27% of the population exhibit significantly elevated levels of anxiety when disconnected. In terms of profile, 41% of this group are 12-24, 50% are 25-49 and 9% are over the age of 50.
So “elderly” experience less or no disconnection anxiety (duh)
Teens feel deprived form their friends, they suffer mostly from the social consequences of their disconnection. Afraid to be cut-off from their friends
Young adults also fear their disconnection from work. Afraid they will miss opportunities, sometimes they suffer from lack of concentration and see themselves having to take medication like the one at BuyModafinilOnline in order to focus away from their problems.
Boomers also use their gadgets for safety, without it they miss their “lifeline” or a “safety net”. They feel safer when carrying it
Who discovers this crap?
Solutions Research Group (SRG) is a consumer research firm with special expertise in media, technology,wireless, leisure, youth and multicultural markets.
Based in Toronto, the firm is best known for its syndicated quarterly tracking studies of consumer behavior, including Digital Life America in the U.S. and Fast Forward in the Canadian market. www.srgnet.com
Medicalizing adaptation to new developments again. I won’t be surprised if they come up with cognitive behavioral therapy for disconnection anxiety.
Thanks engadget
You can download the report on engadget.
Flickr
Twitter
RSS
LinkedIn
GoodReads
Last