Gaming habits and symptoms of video game addiction in Spanish adolescents

Abstract

Gaming disorder has been receiving increased attention since its inclusion in the ICD-11. However, there are still few studies on minors in the Spanish context. The present study aimed to explore the gaming habits and symptomatology of gaming disorder in this population, as well as analyzing the relationship between both. Gaming habits were assessed such as frequency and weekly hours played, and the Game Addiction Scale for Adolescents was applied to a sample of 3748 students between 12 and 17 years old. It was found that 13.5% presented symptoms of problematic gaming and 3.3% a possible video game addiction. There was also a relationship between gambling habits and the presence of addiction symptoms. These results are compared to other studies and the heterogeneity of data available in the field is highlighted. Additionally, the implications of the results for preventive actions carried out by developers and families are discussed.