Our JAMA Network Open Study Featured in UCSB News

I’m excited to share that my recent research with Dr. René Weber was featured in Science + Technology at UC Santa Barbara. The article highlights our new publication in JAMA Network Open, which examines the roots of gaming disorder among adolescents.

Our study followed more than 4,000 adolescents in the NIH-funded Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. We wanted to know: do video games themselves cause addiction, or are there deeper issues at play?

The results were clear: teens who already struggled with depression, anxiety, or social difficulties were far more likely to develop problematic gaming behaviors. In other words, gaming disorder often stems from preexisting mental health challenges — and in these cases, gaming can become an unhealthy coping mechanism.

This finding has important implications for treatment. While many assume the solution is to simply remove video games, our research suggests that addressing underlying mental health needs is a much more effective starting point.

You can read the full UCSB article here

And our open-access publication in JAMA Network Open here