Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Factorial structure of the Internet Gaming Disorder questionnaire in the Italian setting: a single-factored ailment or a multifaceted condition?

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Introduction

Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) according to DSM-5 is a behavioral addiction needing additional study. IGD in youth is correlated with anxiety, depression, attention problems, interpersonal problems, social phobia, behavior problems and low academic achievement. The aim of the present research is to contribute to the understanding of the disorder, by providing preliminary data on the factorial structure of the IGD Questionnaire in the Italian version.

Participants

612 Italian students (323 females), mean of age = 13.94 (SD = 2.44). Instruments: a survey comprising IGD Questionnaire, Internet Addiction Test (IAT), Children’s Coping Strategies Checklist (CCSC-R1), Assessment of Interpersonal Relations (AIR), and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL).

Results

15.2% of participants showed a sub-clinical IGD and 2.1% met the full diagnostic criteria. Participants with IGD showed lower scores in interpersonal relationships, worse coping strategies and higher scores in externalization. The factorial structure of the IGD Questionnaire highlights 4 factors (“addiction”, “gaming as coping”, “impaired control” and “negative outcomes”) that explain 52.14% of the variance. A single-factor solution was also tested and results seem to be coherent with the four-factor solution, explaining less variance.

Conclusions

IGD is a complex clinical condition that can be thought both as a single-factored and as a multi-faceted condition.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game.

  2. Multiplayer Online Battle Arena.

References

  1. Achab S, Meuli V, Deluze J, Thorens G, Rothern S, Khazaal Y, Zullino D, Billieux J (2015) Challenges and trends of identification and treatment of disorders associated with problematic use of Internet. In: Public health implications of excessive use of the Internet, computers, smartphones and similar electronic devices. World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.

  2. Adams BL, Stavropoulos V, Burleigh TL, Liew LW, Beard CL, Griffiths MD (2019) Internet gaming disorder behaviors in emergent adulthood: a pilot study examining the interplay between anxiety and family cohesion. Int J Ment Heal Addict 17(4):828–844

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5®). American Psychiatric Pub.

  4. Bender PK, Gentile DA (2020) Internet gaming disorder: relations between needs satisfaction in-game and in life in general. Psychol Pop Media Cult 9(2):266–278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Boot WR, Kramer AF, Simons DJ, Fabiani M, Gratton G (2008) The effects of video game playing on attention, memory, and executive control. Acta Physiol (Oxf) 129(3):387–398

    Google Scholar 

  6. Brunborg GS, Mentzoni RA, Frøyland LR (2014) Is video gaming, or video game addiction, associated with depression, academic achievement, heavy episodic drinking, or conduct problems? J Behav Addict 3(1):27–32

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Brunborg GS, Hanss D, Mentzoni RA, Pallesen S (2015) Core and peripheral criteria of video game addiction in the game addiction scale for adolescents. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw 18(5):280–285

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Caplan S, Williams D, Yee N (2009) Problematic Internet use and psychosocial well-being among MMO players. Comput Hum Behav 25(6):1312–1319

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Casale S, Tella L, Fioravanti G (2013) Preference for online social interactions among young people: Direct and indirect effects of emotional intelligence. Personality Individ Differ 54(4):524–529

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Chan PA, Rabinowitz T (2006) A cross-sectional analysis of video games and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms in adolescents. Ann Gen Psychiatry 5(1):16–26

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Charlton JP, Danforth ID (2007) Distinguishing addiction and high engagement in the context of online game playing. Comput Hum Behav 23(3):1531–1548

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Chiorri C, Soraci P, Ferrari A (2023) the role of mindfulness, mind wandering, attentional control, and maladaptive personality traits in problematic gaming behavior. Mindfulness 14(3):648–670

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Choo H, Sim T, Liau AKF, Gentile DA, Khoo A (2015) Parental influences on pathological symptoms of video-gaming among children and adolescents: a prospective study. J Child Fam Stud 24(5):1429–1441. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-014-9949-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Cole SH, Hooley JM (2013) Clinical and personality correlates of MMO gaming: Anxiety and absorption in problematic internet use. Soc Sci Comput Rev 31(4):424–436

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Costa S, Barberis N, Gugliandolo MC, Liga F, Cuzzocrea F, Verrastro V (2020) Examination of the psychometric characteristics of the Italian version of the game addiction scale for adolescents. Psychol Rep 123(4):1365–1381

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Coyne SM, Stockdale LA, Warburton W, Gentile DA, Yang C, Merrill BM (2020) Pathological video game symptoms from adolescence to emerging adulthood: A 6-year longitudinal study of trajectories, predictors, and outcomes. Advance online publication, Developmental psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000939

    Book  Google Scholar 

  17. de Palo V, Monacis L, Sinatra M, Griffiths MD, Pontes H, Petro M, Miceli S (2019) Measurement invariance of the nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale (IGDS9-SF) across Albania, USA, UK, and Italy. Int J Ment Heal Addict 17(4):935–946

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Dreier M, Wölfling K, Duven E, Giralt S, Beutel ME, Müller KW (2017) Free-to-play: about addicted Whales, at risk Dolphins and healthy Minnows. Monetarization design and internet gaming disorder. Addict Behav 64:328–333

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Dworak M, Schierl T, Bruns T, Strüder HK (2007) Impact of singular excessive computer game and television exposure on sleep patterns and memory performance of school-aged children. Pediatrics 120(5):978–985

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Entertainment Software Association. (2016). Essential facts about the computer and video game industry. Retrieved from http://essentialfacts.theesa.com/Essential-Facts-2016.pdf

  21. Fuster H, Carbonell X, Pontes HM, Griffiths MD (2016) Spanish validation of the internet gaming disorder-20 (IGD-20) test. Comput Hum Behav 56:215–224

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Gentile D (2009) Pathological video-game use among youth ages 8 to 18: a national study. Psychol Sci 20(5):594–602

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Gentile DA, Anderson CA, Yukawa S, Ihoei N, Saleem M, Ming LK, Shibuya A, Liau AK, Khoo A, Bushman BJ, Huesmann LR, Sakamoto A (2009) The effect of prosocial video games on prosocial behaviors: international evidence from correlational, longitudinal, and experimental studies. Pers Soc Psychol Bull 35(6):752–763

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. Gentile DA, Coyne SM, Bricolo F (2012) Pathological technology addictions: What is scientifically known and what remains to be learned. In: Dill KE (ed) Oxford Handbook of Media Psychology. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 382–402

    Google Scholar 

  25. Green CS, Bavelier D (2012) Learning, attentional control, and action video games. Curr Biol 22(6):R197–R206

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  26. Griffiths MD, Nuyens F (2017) An overview of structural characteristics in problematic video game playing. Curr Addict Rep 4(3):272–283

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  27. Griffiths MD, Van Rooij AJ, Kardefelt-Winther D, Starcevic V, Király O, Pallesen S, King DL (2016) Working towards an international consensus on criteria for assessing Internet gaming disorder: A critical commentary on Petry et al.(2014). Addiction (Abingdon, England) 111(1): 167.

  28. Hayton JC, Allen DG, Scarpello V (2004) Factor retention decisions in exploratory factor analysis: a tutorial on parallel analysis. Organ Res Methods 7(2):191–205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Jeong EJ, Kim DJ, Lee DM (2017) Why do some people become addicted to digital games more easily? A study of digital game addiction from a psychosocial health perspective. Int J Hum-Comput Interaction 33(3):199–214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Khazaal Y, Achab S, Billieux J, Thorens G, Zullino D, Dufour M, Rothen S (2015) Factor structure of the internet addiction test in online gamers and poker players. JMIR Mental Health 2(2):e12

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  31. Király O, Griffiths MD, Demetrovics Z (2015) Internet gaming disorder and the DSM-5: Conceptualization, debates, and controversies. Curr Addict Rep 2(3):254–262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Kuss D, Griffiths D, Karila ML, Billieux J. (2014) Internet addiction: A systematic review of epidemiological research for the last decade. Current Pharmaceutical Design, 20(25): 4026-4052

  33. Kuss DJ, Louws J, Wiers RW (2012) Online gaming addiction? Motives predict addictive play behavior in massively multiplayer online role-playing games. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw 15(9):480–485

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Ledesma RD, Valero-Mora P (2007) Determining the number of factors to retain in EFA: An easy-to-use computer program for carrying out parallel analysis. Pract Assess Res Eval 12(1):2

    Google Scholar 

  35. Lee SY, Lee HK, Jeong H, Yim HW, Bhang SY, Jo SJ, Kweon YS (2017) The hierarchical implications of internet gaming disorder criteria: which indicate more severe pathology?. Psychiatry Investigation, 14(3): 249–259.

  36. Lemmens JS, Valkenburg PM, Peter J (2011) Psychosocial causes and consequences of pathological gaming. Comput Hum Behav 27(1):144–152

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Lemmens JS, Valkenburg PM, Gentile DA (2015) The Internet gaming disorder scale. Psychol Assess 27(2):567–582

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Loton D, Borkoles E, Lubman D, Polman R (2016) Video game addiction, engagement and symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety: The mediating role of coping. Int J Ment Heal Addict 14(4):565–578

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Mihara S, Higuchi S (2017) Cross-sectional and longitudinal epidemiological studies of Internet gaming disorder: a systematic review of the literature. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 71(7):425–444

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Milani L, La Torre G, Fiore M, Grumi S, Gentile DA, Ferrante M, Di Blasio P (2018) Internet gaming addiction in adolescence: risk factors and maladjustment correlates. Int J Mental Health Addiction, 16(4): 888–904.

  41. Milani L, Grumi S, Di Blasio P (2019) Positive effects of videogame use on visuospatial competencies: the impact of visualization style in preadolescents and adolescents. Front Psychol 10:1226

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  42. Milani L, Valtolina G, Boerchi D (2020) Technological addiction and developmental risk: a comparison between Italian and migrant children and adolescents. Ricerche di Psicologia 43(1):191–220

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Monacis L, De Palo V, Griffiths MD, Sinatra M (2016) Validation of the internet gaming disorder scale—short- form (IGDS9-SF) in an Italian-speaking sample. J Behav Addict 5(4):683–690

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  44. Monacis L, Griffiths MD, Cassibba R, Sinatra M, Musso P (2020) Videogame addiction scale for children: Psychometric properties and gamer profiles in the Italian context. Int J Mental Health Addict 1–22.

  45. Müller KW, Janikian M, Dreier M, Wölfling K, Beutel ME, Tzavara C, Tsitsika A (2015) Regular gaming behavior and internet gaming disorder in European adolescents: results from a cross-national representative survey of prevalence, predictors, and psychopathological correlates. Euro Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 24(5): 565–574.

  46. Musetti A, Mancini T, Corsano P, Santoro G, Cavallini MC, Schimmenti A (2019) Maladaptive personality functioning and psychopathological symptoms in problematic video game players: a person-centered approach. Front Psychol 10:2559

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  47. Paulus FW, Ohmann S, Von Gontard A, Popow C (2018) Internet gaming disorder in children and adolescents: a systematic review. Dev Med Child Neurol 60(7):645–659

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. Petry NM, Rehbein F, Gentile DA, Lemmens JS, Rumpf HJ, Mößle T, Auriacombe M (2014) An international consensus for assessing internet gaming disorder using the new DSM‐5 approach. Addiction, 109(9): 1399–1406.

  49. Plante CN, Gentile DA, Groves CL, Modlin A, Blanco-Herrera J (2018) Video games as coping mechanisms in the etiology of video game addiction. Psychol Pop Media Cult 8(4):385–394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Pontes HM, Griffiths MD (2016) Portuguese validation of the internet gaming disorder scale–short-form. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw 19(4):288–293

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  51. Przybylski AK, Weinstein N, Murayama K (2017) Internet gaming disorder: investigating the clinical relevance of a new phenomenon. Am J Psychiatry 174(3):230–236

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Rehbein F, Kliem S, Baier D, Mößle T, Petry NM (2015) Prevalence of internet gaming disorder in German adolescents: diagnostic contribution of the nine DSM-5 criteria in a state-wide representative sample. Addiction 110(5):842–851

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. Sanders JL, Williams RJ (2016) Reliability and validity of the behavioral addiction measure for video gaming. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw 19(1):43–48

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Saunders JB, Hao W, Long J, King DL, Mann K, Fauth-Bühler M et al (2017) Gaming disorder: Its delineation as an important condition for diagnosis, management, and prevention. J Behav Addict 6(3):271–279

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  55. Sugaya N, Shirasaka T, Takahashi K, Kanda H (2019) Bio-psychosocial factors of children and adolescents with internet gaming disorder: a systematic review. BioPsychoSocial medicine 13(1):3

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  56. Tabachnick BG, Fidell LS (2007) Using multivariate statistics, 5th edn. Allyn & Bacon, Boston, MA

    Google Scholar 

  57. Triberti S, Milani L, Villani D, Grumi S, Peracchia S, Curcio G, Riva G (2018) What matters is when you play: investigating the relationship between online video games addiction and time spent playing over specific day phases. Addictive Behaviors Reports 8:185–188

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  58. Van Rooij AJ, Kuss DJ, Griffiths MD, Shorter GW, Schoenmakers TM, Van De Mheen D (2014) The (co-) occurrence of problematic video gaming, substance use, and psychosocial problems in adolescents. J Behav Addict 3(3):157–165

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  59. Yilmaz E, Griffiths MD, Kan A (2017) Development and validation of Videogame Addiction Scale for Children (VASC). Int J Ment Heal Addict 15:869–882

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. Young KS (1998) Caught in the net: How to recognize the signs of internet addiction–and a winning strategy for recovery. John Wiley & Sons

    Google Scholar 

  61. Young KS (2011) Clinical assessment of Internet-addicted clients. In: Young K, Abreu C (Eds.) Internet addiction: A handbook and guide to evaluation and treatment. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

  62. Wesley D, Barczak G (2010) Innovation and marketing in the video game industry: Avoiding the performance trap. Farnham, UK: Gower.

  63. Wichstrøm L, Stenseng F, Belsky J, von Soest T, Hygen BW (2019) Symptoms of internet gaming disorder in youth: predictors and comorbidity. J Abnorm Child Psychol 47(1):71–83

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  64. Wittek CT, Finserås TR, Pallesen S, Mentzoni RA, Hanss D, Griffiths MD, Molde H (2016) Prevalence and predictors of video game addiction: a study based on a national representative sample of gamers. Int J Mental Health Addiction 14(5).

  65. Zhang J, Zhou H, Geng F, Song X, Hu Y (2021) Internet gaming disorder increases mind-wandering in young adults. Front Psychol 11:619072

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CRIdee Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Milan, Milan, Italy

    Luca Milani

  2. Department of Psychology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

    Douglas A. Gentile

Authors
  1. Luca Milani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Douglas A. Gentile
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

L.M. and D.G. devised the research, wrote the main manuscript, performed the analyses and reviewed the paper.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luca Milani.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Milani, L., Gentile, D.A. Factorial structure of the Internet Gaming Disorder questionnaire in the Italian setting: a single-factored ailment or a multifaceted condition?. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 33, 2657–2668 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-023-02322-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-023-02322-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation