New Publication: Psychopathology and Gaming Disorder in Adolescents

I’m excited to share that my latest paper, “Psychopathology and Gaming Disorder in Adolescents” (with Dr. René Weber), has just been published in JAMA Network Open as an Original Investigation in Pediatrics.

This study draws on data from more than 4,200 adolescents in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, following participants across three years. Our goal was to clarify a long-standing question in the field: does problematic video gaming contribute to later mental health challenges, or do preexisting mental health conditions increase the risk of developing gaming disorder?

Using cross-lagged panel models and hierarchical mixed-effects models, we found consistent evidence that psychopathology predicts later gaming disorder, but not the other way around. In other words, adolescents with existing mental health challenges such as depression, anxiety, social problems, or ADHD were more likely to develop problematic gaming behaviors over time. Importantly, gaming disorder did not independently predict later increases in psychopathology.

These findings highlight the importance of addressing underlying mental health needs when considering prevention and treatment for gaming disorder. Simply removing video games is unlikely to resolve the core issues; instead, interventions that target depression, anxiety, and related concerns may reduce both the risk and severity of problematic gaming.

You can read the full open-access article here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2836903