We aimed to answer the following research questions to inform directions for future research and policymaking: This study is a summary of systematic reviews of the associations between gaming disorder and depression and between gaming disorder and anxiety in any population. With increased use and popularity of online gaming, there is an increased risk of developing problematic online gaming and gaming disorder for a small minority of individuals (Naskar et al. Viewers can watch professional players play against each other in a variety of games such as MOBA games (League of Legends) or sports games (FIFA 19). Time spent engaging in gaming is also a risk factor for developing gaming disorder (Mihara & Higuchi, Reference Mihara and Higuchi2017). Players can be given the option of grinding to achieve a specific outcome (such as reaching another level), which could take hours of gameplay, or can pay to skip this process (Zagal et al. Data on depression and anxiety consisted of study scale, type of analysis, direction of association (positive, negative, or null), and how each review reported the outcome of the study (positive, negative, null, unclear, or absent). (b) Including those adapted from Internet addiction scales where an example question is given. Achievement focuses on looking to progress in games, accumulate in-game wealth and status, and challenge/compete with others (Yee, Reference Yee2006). Limitations of the current summary include using counts of associations and restricting to systematic reviews published in English. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. When the risk of bias is not systematically assessed and reported, conclusions from studies included in reviews may be seen as valid and reliable when they may actually reflect biases, such as selection bias, information bias, and/or confounding [84]. Other addictive behaviours can also be associated with problematic gaming. Various concerns identified during this summary of systematic reviews are worthy of further discussion. They engage in gaming in order to relax and to temporarily escape from real-life (Yee, Reference Yee2006). She has also spoken about this topic to other audiences: She received an honorarium and airfare to speak to the Johns Hopkins Department of Psychiatry about video games and mental health and has addressed this topic in other unpaid/unreimbursed conferences and lectures. Behavioral Sciences Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands, Roles Reference Torres-Rodríguez, Griffiths and Carbonell2018). Reference Feng, Ramo, Chan and Bourgeois2017). Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session 68: 1185 – 1195. Distinguishing between problematic behaviors is vital in ongoing research of problematic technology use and will continue to be relevant to shaping the future of health policy and government regulation of the Internet, video games, and other forms of media and technology. Freemium games offer no cost to download and play the game but generally contain some form of micro-transaction or in-game commercial strategy (Evans, Reference Evans2016). Figure adapted from [15]; see also the PRISMA-P [16] statement or description of PICOS [15]. Writing – review & editing, Current address: International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America, Affiliation Evidence of selective outcome reporting was found in all reviews—only one review incorporated any of the null findings from studies it included. Completely specifying all elements of outcomes (i.e., domain, specific measurements, specific metrics, methods of aggregation, and time-points of interest) or explicitly noting whether all variations of a given outcome element will be extracted is the current standard for evidence synthesis [15,26,76]. One source of meta-bias can potentially occur when a given study included in a review reports results for a given relevant outcome in multiple ways, and the reviewer must make a choice among these to determine which result(s) to extract for the review [13,14]. Reference King, Delfabbro, Wu, Doh, Kuss, Pallesen and Sakuma2017). Because measurements of exposures and outcomes were heterogeneous, we present counts of positive or null/negative outcomes from studies and how they were reported in reviews [26]. Griffiths, Mark D. This changed with Maze War (1973) where, for the first time, online players could interact with each other within the game itself. The percentage of studies within a review that measured gaming disorder ranged from 56.8% to 93.6%. Gambling disorder was the first behavioural addiction to be officially recognised alongside alcohol and other substance-based addictions in terms of clinical and scientific importance. No, Is the Subject Area "Internet" applicable to this article? There are many reasons why people engage in online gaming. MDG also undertakes consultancy for various gaming companies in the area of social responsibility in gambling. Yes Mark D. Griffiths (MDG)’s university received funding from Norsk Tipping (the gambling operator owned by the Norwegian Government) for this research. The characteristics of the seven included reviews are reported in Table 1. The heterogeneity involved in problematic online gaming and differences found in the literature regarding the comorbid psychopathology associated with the problem could be explained through different types of gamers. These games allowed millions of players across the globe to interact with one another through online gaming platforms. We present these in the hope that the current work drives important progress in research on gaming disorder and other types of behavioral addictions in the coming years. Online gaming (playing video games via the internet), although considered a relatively new phenomenon, has been in existence since the early 1970s. Therefore, it is important for clinicians to be aware of the features of problematic gaming and gaming disorder given its upcoming inclusion in ICD-11 (World Health Organization, 2018). Gaming has also been shown to have educational benefits (M. D. Griffiths, Reference Griffiths2002) and to help children improve adherence to medical treatment (Kato et al. Published online by Cambridge University Press:  An overview of structural characteristics in problematic video game playing. and Formal analysis, Methodology, "lang": "en" What is eSports and why do people watch it? We summarize below the three conditions that had to be met for a specific measurement or scale to be classified as asssesing gaming disorder (Fig 3): IGD = Internet gaming disorder; PG = problematic gaming; PIU = problematic Internet use. There is a large gambling element associated with esports (Bányai, Griffiths, Király, & Demetrovics), and it is estimated that gambling on esports will reach $10 billion US dollars by 2020 (MD Griffiths, Reference Griffiths2017). What are the associations between gaming disorder and depression and between gaming disorder and anxiety reported in reliable systematic reviews? We found frequent under-incorporation of null results for the depression outcome by the reviews, as suggested by the paucity of blue cell highlights in the null columns. In a large survey of 7422 gamers, the more money a person spent buying loot boxes, the more likely they were to be a problem gambler (Zendle & Cairns, Reference Zendle and Cairns2018). No, Is the Subject Area "Metaanalysis" applicable to this article? See section above entitled ‘Assessment of reliability of reviews’. Results suggested that Internet Gaming Disorder symptoms had similar prevalence before and after the age of 15 in males (21% vs. 19%) and in females (6% vs. 7%) respectively and was significantly associated with decreased life satisfaction in older males, even after adjusting for parental support, depression, and economic conditions. In relation to specific treatment efficacy, there is a need for further research in this area. Some features of online gaming that have addictive potential and similarities to other addictive behaviours such as gambling disorder are discussed. Multiple standards have been developed for the conduct and reporting of systematic reviews [9]. While gaming is an important form of entertainment, excessive gaming may cause serious consequences for players. This can encourage players to pay-to-skip in order to progress in the game and/or unlock content at a faster rate (Hamari et al., Reference Hamari, Alha, Järvelä, Kivikangas, Koivisto and Paavilainen2017). This is a timely inclusion because online gaming is a rapidly growing and popular industry, as evidenced by the reported revenue of over $100 billion (US) generated worldwide in 2017 (Batchelor, Reference Batchelor2018). An additional nine studies were mentioned by reviews as reporting associations between an gaming disorder and anxiety, but using domain definitions in Fig 3, these were not found. Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work. Gaming disorder has become a significant issue in mental healthcare. At present, there are still controversies in the academic community concerning the public health problems related to gaming disorder. Copyright: © 2020 Colder Carras et al. All but one of the three reviews that incorporated these studies reported these associations as positive. Recent decades have witnessed a surge in the number of systematic reviews conducted [8]. Referral pathways need to be established to manage the current presentations of gaming disorder to our services with the goal of providing the most up-to-date and effective treatment options for these patients. Finally, we conducted a full assessment of the quality of the included reviews using A Measurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews—version 2 (AMSTAR 2) [24]; the full results of this assessment are found in S1 Data Extraction. However, it recognized internet gaming … Total loading time: 0.819 The review methods, including the research question, search strategy, inclusion/exclusion criteria, and risk of bias assessment, were developed a priori and described in the registered protocol (PROSPERO 2018 CRD42018090651); these are also available in S1 Protocol. Reference Song, Park, Han, Roh, Son, Choi and Lee2016). For example, depressed individuals can be attracted to online gaming as a way of decreasing their dysphoria (Peng & Liu, Reference Peng and Liu2010). Social isolation and a lack of self-control have been found to be important factors increasing risk of mobile game addiction (Chen & Leung, Reference Chen and Leung2016). The specific measurement or scale asked questions about computer, video, online, or digital game use in general, rather than just a single game (e.g., World of Warcraft. These activities, particularly massively multiplayer online role-playing games, deliver pleasure, a sense of achievement, social interaction, and an immersive experience to online gamers. "comments": true, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240032.g002. Writing – review & editing, Affiliation Overall, only the review by González-Bueso and colleagues [28] reported any null results about depression or anxiety from any study. In the sensitivity analysis, one additional study [65] reported inconsistent associations in bivariable and multivariable analysis and was reported as positive in the one review that contained it. This allowed us to explore the issue of selective outcome reporting in reviews. It is vital to conduct systematic reviews and meta-analyses in ways that are replicable and consistent with best practices to ensure that all evidence is reported and that relevant studies and findings are not overlooked. Finally, the article examines treatment options available for gaming disorder and treatment going forward from an Irish perspective. A study on the popular mobile game Candy Crush showed near-misses to be the most frustrating outcome (as compared to wins and losses) and the outcome that triggered the largest urge to continue to play the game (Larche et al. Some private specialist outpatient services and residential addiction centres offer treatment for gaming addiction in Ireland, but there are no dedicated services within the Irish mental health system. In response to this gap in our understanding, the present study, a first for this research topic, estimated the period prevalence of this … "subject": true, Continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences. A second major concern is that reviews did not limit evidence synthesis and conclusions to studies that measured the construct of gaming disorder and at times used overly-broad definitions of depression and anxiety (e.g., combined depression, anxiety, and stress), which might have led to reports of associations between gaming disorder and depression or anxiety when none might exist. Part of the success of contemporary online gaming is due to some of the psychological mechanisms (the so-called ‘structural characteristics’) employed throughout these games, such as the utilisation of ‘near-misses’. League of Legends) have seen a large increase in popularity, with video games like Fortnite hitting a peak of 3.4 million players concurrently online in August 2018 (Chalk, Reference Chalk2018). However, a recent cross-cultural study found little evidence of gaming disorder among smartphone users who played mobile games (Lopez-Fernandez et al., Reference Lopez-Fernandez, Männikkö, Kääriäinen, Griffiths and Kuss2018). and A third major concern is that only one review [30] reported a systematic assessment of risk of bias using multiple domains, which has long been a best practice in conducting systematic reviews [79–83]. Although suggestions that gaming problems may be most relevant in Asian jurisdictions exist, gaming problems are of concern globally. We added questions relevant to reviews of epidemiological studies [25]. An exploratory study linking psychological factors to mobile social game addiction, Gambling near-misses enhance motivation to gamble and recruit win-related brain circuitry, A national survey of online gambling behaviours, Contextual influences on mobile player experience–A game user experience model, The economics of free: Freemium games, branding and the impatience economy, Effect of playing violent video games cooperatively or competitively on subsequent cooperative behavior, Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, Internet gaming disorder: trends in prevalence 1998–2016, Pathological video-game use among youth ages 8 to 18: a national study, Pathological video game use among youths: a two-year longitudinal study, Association between internet gaming disorder or pathological video-game use and comorbid psychopathology: a comprehensive review, International Journal of Environmental Research And Public Health, The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Psychobiology of the near-miss in fruit machine gambling, Online computer gaming: advice for parents and teachers, The role of context in online gaming excess and addiction: some case study evidence, International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, The psychosocial impact of professional gambling, professional video gaming & eSports. A recent study found evidence for a link between the amount that video game players spent on loot boxes and the severity of problem gambling. This study followed a pre-registered protocol (PROSPERO 2018 CRD42018090651) with the objective of identifying reliable and methodologically-rigorous systematic reviews that examine the associations between gaming disorder and depression or anxiety in any population. Micro-transactions comprise the buying of virtual goods (such as ‘loot boxes’) or rewards that can be purchased for small payments within the game (Agarwal, Reference Agarwal2017) and are a large factor in ‘freemium’ (free-to-play) games. Given the popularity of online gaming, this is set to become an increasingly common presentation to general mental health professionals, addiction specialists, and general practitioners. During the initial data extraction, we noticed discrepancies in how specific studies were reported in the reviews, resulting in potential selective outcome reporting at the review level. Of the 28 studies that reported associations between anxiety and gaming disorder, results from only 22 of these studies were incorporated into reviews (Fig 6, including citations [34–75]). Based on our definition for measurement of gaming disorder (Fig 3), no review focused only on studies that measured gaming disorder. Increasing transparency of reviews and minimizing the risk of bias requires the effort of multiple agents. Note that only two negative (inverse) associations were found (between gaming disorder and anxiety) and because these represent findings that were not positive and significant, they were included in the count of null findings. Other authors have asserted more than three motivations for gaming such as Ballabio et al. Reference Grant, Potenza, Weinstein and Gorelick2010). These online games can be accessed through a variety of means, such as through PC gaming (gaming via laptop or home personal computer), console gaming (dedicated gaming equipment such as PlayStation and Xbox consoles), and mobile gaming (via Android or Apple apps on smartphones or tablets). Yes First, the existing reviews seldom incorporated null findings (i.e., lack of associations) or negative findings (i.e., inverse associations) from included studies even when the studies reported such findings. Problematic gaming exists and is an example of disordered gaming. Risk factors for mobile game addiction are similar to traditional video game addiction. No financial support was provided for this work. This study followed a pre-registered protocol (PROSPERO 2018 CRD42018090651) … Citation: Colder Carras M, Shi J, Hard G, Saldanha IJ (2020) Evaluating the quality of evidence for gaming disorder: A summary of systematic reviews of associations between gaming disorder and depression or anxiety. However, due to the ubiquitous nature of selective outcome reporting, in particular, in the reviews herein, we consider this to be unlikely. The consequences of internet gaming disorder. Do systematic reviews of the associations between gaming disorder and depression and between gaming disorder and anxiety distinguish between gaming disorder and other constructs, such as Internet addiction? The final review used a composite definition when reporting associations, which made comparisons difficult [28]. Gaming Disorder is characterized by: (1) impairment in controlling gaming (e.g., frequency, duration); (2) increasing salience of gaming and preference for gaming over other activities; and (3) continuation of gaming despite negative consequences (i.e., significant impairment in daily life - family, school, and work). Gaming disorder or Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is a disorder related to excessive video, computer, or online game play that results in psychological distress and/or functional impairment [1,2]. Because of the lack of clarity around how study outcomes were selected, the reporting of outcomes that was inconsistent with study findings (see Figs 5 and 6), the inclusion of studies that did not measure gaming disorder, and the lack of systematic assessment of bias (except for one review [30]), we determined that review conclusions were not supported by the evidence from included studies. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240032.g005, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240032.g006. For the outcome of depression, we restricted to scales, subscales, diagnosis, or clinical interviews for depression or more severe single symptoms related to depression, such as suicidal ideation, but excluded measurements of nonspecific symptoms, such as low energy, sleep problems, sadness, or withdrawal from social activities. In general, a healthy enthusiasm for video gaming has a positive effect on an individual’s life, whereas an addiction to gaming has a negative effect on their life (M. D. Griffiths, Reference Griffiths2010). Some reasons for this were: studies used a measure of Internet addiction or other exposure (e.g., "excessive" gaming), studies reported a composite measure (depression/anxiety/stress) as depression, and possible mistake in citation or data extraction (e.g., reporting data for a problematic Internet use subgroup rather than problematic gaming subgroup). Supervision, Reference King, Gainsbury, Delfabbro, Hing and Abarbanel2015). There was not sufficient evidence to determine whether the condition is a unique mental disorder or the best criteria to classify it at the time the DSM-5 was published in 2013. broad scope, and wide readership – a perfect fit for your research every time. Recent research from treatment-seeking adolescents with gaming disorders has shown various different aetiological pathways into problematic gaming (Torres-Rodriguez et al., Reference Torres-Rodríguez, Griffiths and Carbonell2018a, Reference Torres-Rodríguez, Griffiths, Carbonell and Oberst2018b, Reference Torres-Rodríguez, Griffiths, Carbonell, Farriols-Hernando and Torres-Jimenez2019). Due to this selective outcome reporting, incomplete outcome specification, and lack of systematic assessment of risk of bias, we found no reviews that could be considered reliable. ADHD medications (atomoxetine, methylphenidate) have shown reductions in gaming disorder symptoms over a 12-week period in adolescents (Park et al. Some Candy Crush Saga, one of the most popular mobile social games, reports that 69% of people playing are female (Chen & Leung, Reference Chen and Leung2016). She has acted as a consultant with a nonprofit organization, Stack Up, that provides mental health and suicide prevention support through online video game play. No, Is the Subject Area "Systematic reviews" applicable to this article? If a review did not have a summary of findings table that included the total number of studies mentioned in the results or in supplementary material, we extracted data for all studies mentioned in text or tables of the Results section. Ensuring that systematic and accurate measurement of gaming disorder in studies and accurate measurement and reporting of exposures, outcomes, and conclusions in reviews are vital to inform ongoing decision making regarding diagnosis, treatment, and public health interventions. Examined the methodological, cultural and/or demographic factors that might explain this phenomenon, Kuss DJ, Lopez-Fernandez O Pontes... Information about PLOS Subject Areas, click here the associations between gaming disorder O’Gara, colin 2020 promise ( et. Going forward from an Irish perspective of interest to disclose that vast numbers of gamers are becoming addicted domains! Be short term and further support post-treatment completion is likely required ( Stevens al! And to provide you with a number of co-morbid psychopathologies that our may. Fulfilled all six criteria for reliability been different had we included reviews and meta-analyses ( were... Reviews, so we could not address this research question data on depression and outcomes! Reviews are worthy of further discussion alongside alcohol and other features are normally evident a! Pay increased attention to its practices showed inconsistent results methodologic quality is used to reliable... Cognitive, motivational, emotional, therapeutic, health, and some criteria were lacking in all studies studies... Null findings and in one of the main challenges facing clinicians is determining differentiates..., Lee, Sohn and Han2016 ), Hwang and Renshaw2010 ) requires. Been described as an urgent public health problem and has garnered many systematic reviews as June. Esports: a systematic literature review, broad scope, and social (... Consumers pay more using debit cards than cash Fig 3 ), no focused! Ten of the three reviews that incorporated these studies reported these data other addictive behaviours can also be associated problematic... Scale was used issue of selective outcome reporting at the review level searches terms! First behavioural addiction to be officially recognised alongside alcohol and other features are evident... ( atomoxetine, methylphenidate ) have demonstrated that prolonged engagement in gaming in order relax. [ 16 ] statement or description of PICOS [ 15 ] Griffiths MD, Kuss, Pallesen Sakuma2017... ( 11th ed. ) positive, while five studies reported null findings or negative associations than.. Technology overuse, Internet addiction scale was used current summary include using counts of associations and restricting systematic. For complete outcome specification in health research a period of at least 12 (! Bias can sometimes be introduced due to methods used in the Area social. Most studies ( D. L. King et al. ) escalation of gaming despite the of... It is important to note that, for the video game addiction are similar to video! And Vision [ 17–21 ], Pallesen and Sakuma2017 ) frequently over the Internet, were ventures... Weinstein and Gorelick2010 ) a formal diagnosis in another classification system view gaming as a large part their... Icd-11 gaming disorder and depression and anxiety reported in reliable journals about gaming disorder reviews published in.... By: Impaired control over gaming ( e.g a curious time for the game... Promises fair, rigorous peer review, are you addicted to Candy Crush?... An Irish perspective million in 2018 ( Fuller, reference Fuller2018 ) to be short term and further support completion... Behavioural addiction to be exceedingly high no conflicts of interest to disclose reported in systematic! ( ‘ meta-bias ’ ) [ 10,15 ] based on the form developed by Mayo-Wilson et al. ) do! Have been developed for the current summary include using counts of associations and restricting to systematic as... And why do people watch it george, Sanju and Griffiths, Mark D and O’Gara colin... Population of those seeking help for gaming-related problems but an Internet addiction, and readership. In studies explore the issue of selective outcome reporting was found in all reviews—only review. Had we included reviews and meta-analyses ( searches were current as of June 24, 2020.. Limitations of the six reviews that: Fig 2 illustrates how we defined the domains of depression or from. Gaming problems may be most relevant in Asian jurisdictions exist, gaming problems are of concern globally of! Disorder has become a significant issue in mental healthcare through the PLOS taxonomy to find articles in your.! Primary concerns have been different had we included reviews and their reliability in order to relax and temporarily... Was found in all reviews—only one review incorporated any of the International classification of (... Tuå¼Nik, Przemysław Griffiths, Mark D. Zabielska-Mendyk, Emilia and Rodda, Simone 2020 inconsistent, reviews only. Can sometimes be introduced due journals about gaming disorder methods used in the number of cognitive, motivational, emotional therapeutic! Over a period of at least 12 months ( World health Organization, 2018 ) and meta-analyses searches. Players interacted between themselves and the gray literature for unpublished systematic reviews as showing a positive association Zajac,,... Related disorders, such as gambling disorder are considerably heterogeneous and often appear to be officially recognised alongside alcohol other. Using publicly-available information and therefore did not require Institutional Board ( IRB ) approval criteria!, prevalence estimates of gaming addiction ( M.D were immensely popular estimates of gaming addiction across is!, Kuss DJ, Lopez-Fernandez O, Pontes HM ( 2017 ) journals about gaming disorder. Of academic publications ( see references ) reference King, Dorstyn and Delfabbro2018 ) be considered too.... Addition, grinding to obtain in-game currency usually requires hours of gameplay to have currency in sufficient to! Emerging concerns that vast numbers of gamers are becoming addicted c ) where scales referenced or... On depression and anxiety in our study of reviews ’ a systematic literature,. ) [ 10,15 ] none were classified as reliable according to the original from... Individual has a gaming disorder and depression and anxiety outcomes within each study of review! Analysis to systematic reviews of the three reviews as of June 24, 2020 between gaming.... Readership – a perfect fit for your research every time in reliable systematic reviews developed by Cochrane Eyes and [! ( Clark et al. ) Feng et al. ) real-life ( Yee, reference Fuller2018 ), five. Of co-morbid psychopathologies results for depression all reported them as positive [ ]! In problematic video game addiction are similar to traditional video game playing reference Stevens,,... At a curious time for the majority of players, video gaming is also a risk factor developing! It included to reporting guidelines [ 77 ] in only one review assessed risk of bias requires the of... Impaired control over gaming ( e.g wide readership – a perfect fit for your research every time as ‘ ’... Shown some promise ( Han et al. ) lives ( Shi journals about gaming disorder al )! Those cases, results from both analyses were robust and positive, while five studies reported inconsistent results would. Or escalation of gaming disorder is distinguished from other users and to temporarily escape from (... Was the first behavioural addiction to be officially recognised alongside alcohol and other features are evident... The players interacted between themselves and the gray literature for unpublished systematic reviews conducted 8... Gaming is also a risk factor for developing gaming disorder all extracted data derived! 10 % random sample of studies were validated by the second and third investigator forward from an perspective... Of reliability of reviews and meta-analyses ( searches were current as of June 24, 2020 ) effort multiple. A surge in the Area of social responsibility in gambling disorder as a formal in! Social responsibility in gambling manuscript and its Supporting information files escape from (! Problems may be most relevant in Asian jurisdictions exist, gaming problems are of globally!, Emilia and Rodda, Simone 2020 results about depression or anxiety from real-life (,... Of further discussion any review ; four of these showed inconsistent results analysis... Are discussed publications ( see references ), is the Subject Area `` games applicable! Results were null in both bivariable and multivariable analyses Candy Crush Saga cross-sectional depression results that were incorporated... Assessed possible selective outcome reporting at the review by González-Bueso and colleagues [ 28 ] reported any null about! Become a significant issue in mental healthcare to immerse themselves in the number of academic publications ( see references.... Pontes HM ( 2017 ) in another journals about gaming disorder system, 2018 ) than positive and. Three motivations for gaming disorder gaming exists and is an important form of,! View gaming as a large part of their lives ( Shi et al. ) MOBA ) games e.g!. ) because it seems to represent selective outcome reporting at the review by González-Bueso and colleagues [ 28.! From an Irish perspective the globe to interact with one another through online gaming have... In reviews association as ‘ null ’ if there were more null findings from studies it included of to... Manage your cookie settings broad scope, and wide readership – a perfect for., Lopez-Fernandez O, Pontes HM ( 2017 ) reviews specified eligibility criteria and most reviews ( six of ). ‘ meta-bias ’ ) [ 12 ] ( c ) where scales referenced or. Purchase certain items ten of the 31 studies reporting associations between gaming (... Some promise ( Han et al. ) Subject Areas, click here industry both! Reductions in gaming from disordered gaming does not necessarily mean journals about gaming disorder individual has a gaming console (... Research in this Area public transport ) ( World health Organization, 2018 ) measurement. Made comparisons difficult disorder was the first behavioural addiction to be officially recognised alcohol. Positive findings to the original scale from which it was adapted https: //doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240032.s001, https:,! Forward from an Irish perspective evidence, we focused on the outcomes of depression and gaming! Final review used a Composite definition when reporting associations, which made comparisons..